


Brick by brick

by CapeGooseberry



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Amnesia, Angst, Basically Tony has a BAD time and so does everyone else, Betrayal, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, I have some feelings about CA:CW, Jarvis is Tony's kid, Kinda graphic description of injuries, Maybe - Freeform, Mild Gore, POV Tony Stark, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Sorry Not Sorry, Team cap stink, Temporary Character Death, The Raft Prison (Marvel), Tony Stark Has A Heart, boy these tags are really not in order, but mainly Tony, fight me, first fic, haha - Freeform, let's pretend infinity war never happens, looking at you Ross, mainly, maybe not though, not much violence though, of all kinds - Freeform, oh boy, oh no I forgot a tag, some spicy espionage, tagging is just as fun as I thought it would be!, the most important tag, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2019-09-17 13:50:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 28,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16975776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapeGooseberry/pseuds/CapeGooseberry
Summary: On the 16th December 2016 Tony Stark was assaulted while leaving a press conference. Now, a month later he wakes up to find the world has changed – and he has too.But is it for the better?Post Captain America: Civil War. Now with extra IronDad and SpiderSon! No ships as of yet.





	1. Waking up in a Strange Land

**Author's Note:**

> OK! So I've never written fan fiction before, despite reading plenty. The idea hit me in September... yes, it is now December but I wasn't sure if I wanted to post this and the story has EVOLVED: what was supposed to be a short story about Tony recovering from a traumatic head injury became a sprawling monster! (It is 37 pages on Word so far and still unfinished) I'm somewhat curious if anyone will want to read this and if so whether they catch on to what I'm trying to hint at in the early stages.   
> This story was written primarily for my sister so I'm not too bothered what anyone else think of it but feel free to tell me.

Tony woke up confused, disorientated and feeling weak, as if he had been asleep for a long time. He had a suspicion that any attempts to move would be somewhat unpleasant so he remained limp. His mind was indistinct and unreasonably resistant to any attempts to focus. Tony wondered detachedly what was wrong with him. On some level he knew he should be concerned but this thought was soothed by the comforting apathy that was wrapped around him.

He drifted for a while before some awareness returned. Opening his eyes was still an effort too great at so he contented himself in listening to his surroundings. Muffled voices could be heard in the distance and the rattle of something on wheels moving could be heard. Closer to him there was the sound of quiet breathing. It was then he realised there was a hand in his, clutching tightly but not so much to hurt.

This unexpected physical contact startled him enough that the apathy slowing his thoughts receded somewhat. The hand in his was large and warm but the skin was rough. His energy was slowly returning as his curiosity rose, and he managed to crack an eye open. He was in a hospital room, enough equipment surrounding his bed to treat the ailments of a small town. There was a man sitting there, he looked tired and was grimacing at the paperwork in his lap with bloodshot eyes. Tony didn’t recognise the man but still felt so disconnected from reality that this didn’t seem too concerning.

The unknown man rubbed his free hand across his face before glancing up at Tony. His eyes widened when he saw he was awake and a wide grin split across his face.  
“Tony! You’re awake!” the stranger cried, already seeming livelier “How are you feeling?”

Tony stared back at him cautiously. This man obviously knew him – or thought he did, yet Tony would have sworn they’d never met. He swallowed painfully a couple of times to try and gather enough moisture to speak.

“I’m... OK,” he answered carefully, voice barely above a cracked whisper “Who are you?”

The man’s smile instantly crumpled. Seeing him so distressed made Tony feel something twist painfully inside him but he was sure he’d never met this man before in his life and it was better to rip the band aid off now than to let the wound fester. The man was now getting shakily to his feet, papers scattering across the room.   
“I’m going to get a doctor,” he muttered before staggering out the doom with a dazed expression. Tony stared at the closed door morosely, he’d only just woken up and he’d already upset someone. Well done!

The man returned, closely followed by a doctor. He was given some ice chips to sooth his mouth and throat and then he was barraged by a series of increasingly infuriating questions: his name, age, how he was feeling, and so on. He was answering as best as he could, but it was just so difficult to think and he didn’t appreciate being encouraged to hurry up. Tony’s patience quickly ran thin but the worried looks on the Doctor’s and the stranger’s faces made him hold back.  
“Is everything OK, Doctor?” he asked when the questions were over. The doctor cringed a little and Tony’s heart sank.  
“We have some concerns about possible brain damage, do you remember the circumstances that led to your stay here, Mr Stark?” the doctor asked, sweating nervously.   
“No,” Tony admitted “I don’t remember at all.” The doctor and the other man glanced at each other before the doctor nodded and turned back to Tony.  
“I’ll let Colonel Rhodes explain what happened, he was there after all. Someone will be round to check the bandages in an hour and we’ll probably need to run some scans in the next few days,” and with that he fled, making sure to softly close the door behind him.

Bandages? Tony hadn’t noticed any of those. He managed to lift an arm and threw aside the covers. No bandages to be seen there either. He couldn’t feel any beneath his hospital gown either. By now the other man – Colonel Rhodes – was asking him what he was doing while trying to drape the blanket back over him.  
“Doc mentioned bandages, but I don’t seem to have any! I didn’t think the guy had enough of a sense of humour for a prank like this,” he tried to sound grumpy but couldn’t keep the worried tone from his voice.

Rhodes regarded him sadly for a moment before fishing his phone out of his pocket and handing it to him with the camera on. Tony stared at himself, horrified. His head was covered with dressings and where it wasn’t, it was obvious his hair had been shaved off. All of it. That wasn’t all: his face was thin, his eyes sunken and his skin was desperately pale and had an unhealthy grey tinge, Tony barely recognised himself, he almost looked as if he’d already become a ghost.

There was a long silence as Tony took in the changes to his appearance. After what felt like an eternity, Rhodes gently placed his hand on Tony’s shoulder and pried away the phone. His voice was unbearably soft when he spoke “We all thought you were a goner this time, Tony.”

Tony hated the fondness the Colonel was showing for him – he done nothing to deserve it: what kind of friend forgets about the other even existing? Tony remembered that the Colonel had been holding his hand and hoped they’d been friends and not anything more – things would be even more difficult otherwise.

He decided to bite the bullet and ask, “What happened, Colonel, how did I end up here?”

Rhodes visibly flinched at being referred to by his title but answered anyway, his mouth twisting with displeasure and something else Tony couldn’t identify “There was a security breach as you were leaving a press conference, and someone threw a brick at you.”

“A brick?” Tony asked incredulously.

“A brick that has kept you in the hospital for a month and damaged your precious noggin enough to require several surgeries. You’re lucky to be alive Tony, and to be rich enough you can pay the medical bill.” Rhodes tried to smirk but failed to wipe the concerned look off his face so instead he just looked slightly constipated. Tony felt the corner of his mouth twitching into a sarcastic smile before a huge yawn forced its way out. Tony sagged further into his pillows, suddenly feeling as energetic as a tortoise in a snowstorm. Rhodes just sighed before starting to pick up his scattered paperwork which had been covering a great deal of the floor all this time. Before all the documents had been picked up Tony was asleep once more.


	2. Assorted truths (and lies)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha I'm back! This chapter may seem like a lot of re-capping of previous events in the MCU but I felt it was important to understand what information exactly Tony has to go off (and also how accurate it is!). Also Pepper is here!! I really like Pepper but sadly she doesn't have many scenes (mainly because she wouldn't put up with half of the nonsense that happens later on).

“What _do_ you remember?” It was Pepper who had been there this time when he woke up. He had much more energy this time, enough to engage in exhausting activities like sitting upright. Tony remembered Pepper just fine… mostly. Little things about her had slipped away – he couldn’t recall her voice and when she’d first spoken to him it had been the voice of a stranger. OK, maybe that’s not something small but Tony was desperate not to let his situation overwhelm him.

He realised he hadn’t given Pepper an answer yet and gathered his thoughts “I’m not sure to be honest, I can remember things from years ago just fine…ish,” he shudders at the memory of the Ten Rings, why couldn’t he have forgotten that? “but more recently it’s all gone.” When he’d first woken up they’d asked him the date and he’d answered December 2016 but from the last eight years he recalled very little and what remained was strangely indistinct, almost like the memory belonged to someone else. It was hard to pinpoint exactly when the change occurred, but it was sometime shortly after his return from captivity wayyy back in 2008!

He took a deep breath before asking the question that had been bothering him “Pepper, how did I escape in Afghanistan? I remember agreeing to build the missile and then being back in the states. I didn’t do it right?”

Pepper sighs and looks a strange combination of relieved and upset. Tony doesn’t know what to do about this, so he just stares at her hopefully.

“You didn’t build it.” He allows himself a quiet smile “but I don’t know how you got away – you refused to talk about it to me, maybe Rhodes knows more?”

“Yea I’ll ask him… Pepper who is Rhodes to me? He was very upset when he realised I didn’t know him,” he fiddled with his sleeve, not making eye contact. Pepper rummaged around her bag and got her phone out.

“You met Rhodes at university. He’s your best friend, Tony. Look.” Tony looked up to see Pepper’s phone screensaver. Pepper, Rhodes and him were all standing there, arms slung around each other and grinning. They all look truly happy, even him – although past Tony had obviously had a few late nights judging by the dark shadows under his eyes. Pepper tucks the phone away in her bag, a fond but sad smile softening her features “Happy took that photo at your birthday last year, before things went wrong.”

There was a story there, and not a pleasant one. Tony swallowed nervously and unconsciously went to tap his fingers against the arc reactor casing, only to feel flesh rather than machinery through his clothing. He froze before panic kicked in and he clawed at is hospital gown. “What happened to the arc reactor?” He demanded, finally managing to peel it back to reveal a horrific mess of scarring but there was no longer any metal or blue light to be seen.

Pepper grimaced. “As soon as you found a way you had the shrapnel removed, as well as the arc reactor.” Tony then realised he had been starting to hyperventilate and tried to regain control. Pepper reached out and rubbed his shoulder soothingly.

Tony poked where the arc reactor had been carefully, apart from the scarring it was almost like the reactor had never been there! He’d thought the arc reactor was going to remain embedded in his chest for the rest of his life!! It was then he noticed a scar that hadn’t been there before. It bisected the scarring from the reactor and it looked fairly recent “What happened with this?” he asked, pointing.

“Someone…someone you trusted tried to kill you – and if the reactor had still been there when it happened then they would have been successful.”

The sombre look in her eyes told Tony that Pepper had trusted whoever it was too. Tony squirmed inside at the realisation that Pepper had probably thought she’d lost him twice in the same year? 6 months? A change in topic was due “OK, how’s the company doing?” he asked tentatively.

“Well, after you came back from Afghanistan SI stopped producing weapons and moved into other areas, like clean energy. Also, you made me CEO a few years ago when the arc reactor started killing you and you created the Ironman suit for Rhodey. It’s been rather eventful!” Pepper tried to laugh to lighten the mood but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. She looked more worn then and Tony’s heart felt like it was being squeezed in one of the vices in his workshop. Although moving on, what was an ‘Ironman’?? It sounded really stupid.

At his confused expression Pepper got her phone out again and showed him the Wikipedia article for ‘Ironman’ which turned out to be a flying metal suit which contained 0% iron. Tony wondered what would have possessed him to build something like this if he supposedly quit producing weapons. Rhodes was in the military for goodness sake, had he really expected the armour to only be used to help people? However he was glad he’d at least mostly quit the weapons industry – if there was anything he’d learnt during his stay with the ten rings it was that he wouldn’t be able to live peacefully with the continued slaughter _his_ inventions had brought about.

His attention was brought back to Pepper when she suddenly froze, her expression turning to pity. “You don’t remember what happened to Obadiah, do you?”

“What do you mean? He’s OK, right?” Countless disasters were running through his head: plane crashes, obscure terminal illnesses and more outlandish theories and he had to reign in this racing thoughts before he went off the deep end.

Pepper took his hand in hers and looked into his eyes “Tony, it was Obadiah that ordered the hit on you, he’s the reason the ten rings took you! He took the arc reactor from your chest and left you to die!!” Tony vaguely recalled the fear and agony as the machinery keeping him alive was torn out, but he didn’t remember whose hands had done it. It couldn’t be right though? I mean this was _Obie_ , the man who had basically replaced Howard as his father – not that Howard had set the bar particularly high in the first place! “Where is he now? He managed to croak.

“He’s dead. There was an explosion in one of our factories when the government tried to arrest him, and he was caught in the middle of it.”

Just then Pepper’s phone went off. She looked at the screen and started standing up “Sorry Tony, I need to take this.” He nodded numbly, and she swept out of the room, already chastising whoever it was that had called.

Tony slumped in the bed. He’d known Pepper for years, long enough that he could tell when she wasn’t telling him the whole story. Why did she feel the need to hide things from him? Pepper and he were close! – unless that brick had done a good deal more damage than he thought. Close friends aren’t usually in the habit of hiding things from each other like this. Had Tony done something so awful that she didn’t want to tell him?

Although he’d thought Obadiah was his friend and if what Pepper had told him was true then he’d been trying to kill him! Tony thought over what she’d said, it implied that Obadiah hadn’t been the only person close to him that had tried to kill him – Obadiah had seemingly tried to take the arc reactor but whoever the second person was had betrayed him more recently, after the reactor was removed. What was it with people betraying him? He had obviously had a busy few years!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI this probably won't be Pepperony (or any other ship) because 1. while Pepper and Tony are amazing characters I don't particularly ship them and I quite like them as friends also 2. I have no idea how to write romantic relationships!
> 
> On another note when Pepper talks about the photo taken on Tony's birthday the previous year, "before things went wrong" she isn't quite correct. I looked up the MCU wikia and apparently Tony's birthday is the 29th May and the mess in Lagos in Civil War happens on the 3rd May so while things hadn't properly spiraled at that point, Tony was most likely up to his eyeballs in the issues that caused. I had no idea there was such a gap between Lagos and the UN summit in Vienna (22nd June). Normally I wouldn't really care about the finer details of the timeline but I wanted to know exactly when I could put my story in the MCU. I decided on post spiderman: homecoming because I wanted Peter to have a cameo (the cameo kind of grew legs and started running but who can say no to more Peter Parker?) Homecoming happens in September 2016 and the brick is thrown in December so Peter and Tony have had some time to become closer. We are currently in January 2017 at this point of the story.


	3. Peter Parker Has a Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, things up until now have been fairly chill but I'm afraid it's all downhill from here!   
> I actually don't like hurting Peter at ALL (I feel this needs to be said as it definitely doesn't come across effectively in my writing) and he was only supposed to have like a small cameo later in the story but here we are.   
> This scene was written because without it the events around chapters 13 and 14 don't make as much sense (so something to look forward to there!!).

Peter Parker skipped down the street, school was finally finished for the weekend and he was looking forward to having a sleepover with Ned. However, first he had to go home and get changed out of his school things. Since he’d heard about Mr Stark’s miraculous recovery at the beginning o the week his mood had been especially good and nothing had happened to change it. Things had gone almost suspiciously well: even his Spanish test results had been great! He was excited to see Mr Stark again but from what Ms Potts had told him that wouldn’t be for some time. She’d said he was still weak from the multiple surgeries and spending so long unconscious but he was regaining his strength quickly. She’d sounded strained over the phone but also relieved, she was probably just busy.

Anyway, back to the sleepover! Ned said last week that he’d found some old second-hand Star Trek DVDs and Peter was excited to watch them. This sleepover was going to be amazing!

He was so caught up planning what they would watch that he managed to ignore the warnings from his Spidey sense. A hand wrapped around the back of his shirt collar and he was yanked into a dingy alleyway. Peter was pushed face-first into the wall and before he could fight back his arms were grabbed and twisted uncomfortably behind him. His luck had finally run out it seemed.

Peter almost lashed out but managed to remind himself that he was currently playing the part of the weak, nerdy teenager and that he couldn’t just web this thug to a wall. Instead he opened his mouth to scream but a hand clamped his jaw shut and a door swung open a couple of meters from where Peter was currently immobilised.

“Quick, get him in here!” a gruff voice hissed. Peter squeaked as he was manhandled inside, and the door slammed shut, plunging the room into darkness. He cried out when he received an unexpected blow to the stomach, emptying his lungs of air and sending him crumpling to the floor. A weight forced down on his back as soon as he made to get up, the grip on his contorted arms never wavering.

“What... what do you want?” He gasped out as soon as he had enough air.

“You are Tony Stark’s intern,” a new voice spoke from the other side of the room. It wasn’t a question.

The man by the door snorted “More like son, have you seen the way Stark looks at him?”

“Quiet” the voice hissed “I did not ask for your opinion. Now, Peter I’m not sure if you’ve been informed but dear Mr Stark has awoken from his coma but has suffered extensive memory loss. Seeing as you are his intern you will probably come into contact with him fairly regularly. When you meet Stark again you will not mention certain topics to him. If you agree we will let you go and it will be the last you hear of us. However, if you break your promise then I’m afraid things will get ugly – we would hate for anything bad to happen to dear Aunt May.”

A flash of rage possessed Peter and he started to fight against the man’s iron grip and yelled in the direction of the voice “Keep her out of this!”

A blow to the back of the head made him momentarily dazed and he ceased his struggles. “Don’t worry Peter, all you’ll have to do is keep your promise.” The man walked closer as he spoke until his spider sense placed him right next to where Peter was restrained on the ground. There was a pause as the man knelt down. “And if you break your promise I will ensure that you never see May _ever_ again.” Peter shivered when he felt a hand stroke through his hair almost tenderly.

“It would be laughably easy, Peter. She works so hard to support you, all those late-night shifts at the hospital and so _few_ people around.”

Tears began to slide down his face and he screwed his eyes shut. He’d always worried what would happen if he was faced with the choice between his loved ones and being Spiderman and while this wasn’t quite that he now knew what he would choose. As painful as it was to betray Mr Stark like this, Aunt May’s life was potentially on the line!

“What it is you want kept secret?” he whispered.


	4. If You’re Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!! I _just_ watched Ironman 2 and it was wild! Why does no one make any sensible decisions in that film?? And as for Hammer... I am lost for words: how did this man become a CEO of a weapons manufacturing company? How has he not blown himself up? Just How?? I found around 70% of the film very uncomfortable - although some of it was great (for example the appearance of Howard "I'll show you... I'll show you my ass!" Stark which had me giggling and also the scene at the very end where Tony and Rhodes are presented their medals) I'd heard a lot about the film before watching it but nothing of these particular gems.
> 
> Anyway!! This chapter has Happy (who may not show up again so enjoy yourselves). Nothing here is very plot relevant but the scene kinda wrote itself so eh.

Happy finally visited him a couple weeks after the first time he awoke after his injury. Tony was spending much more time awake now and was well on the road to recovery, so he actually saw him arrive. Happy looked a lot more tired and harassed than Tony remembered but he was pleased to see him at all – the question of who had tried to kill him the second time had been bothering him as he didn’t have many people close to him – or couldn’t remember them. He reckoned that if anyone was going to visit him in hospital then they probably hadn’t tried to kill him.

Happy brandished a bag with the logo of a fast food chain emblazoned across it in Tony’s face. “Special delivery just for you” he grumbled before tossing the bag in Tony’s lap.

“Thanks Hap, you’re too good to me!” Tony tore into the bag with delight to reveal a burger. In his first week awake his stomach had been unable to take solid food so he was glad Happy had chosen to visit a little further down his recovery. Tony knew what his impulse control was like and if he’d been offered a burger in that first week he would have eaten it regardless of the consequences! He took a huge bite and made a noise of satisfaction that he could tell without looking had Happy rolling his eyes (he may still regret eating the burger – it was significantly fattier than the bland hospital food – but in that moment Tony didn’t care).

When he looked up at Happy again, half the food already gone, there was a distinct brightness in his ex-bodyguard’s eyes “I’m glad you still remember me, boss” Happy choked out. Tony patted him on the arm, unsure what to do – Happy had never acted like this before which showed just how worried he’d been. He pretended not to have witnessed Happy’s moment of vulnerability – bringing it up would just make him defensive but Tony knew deep down he would have to try to avoid any more scenarios like this in the future if this was the effect it had on those around him. He doubted he would be able to but trying couldn’t be bad!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is super short but I may put another chapter on this week. Maybe? (Maybe not) Who knows!


	5. Coming Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have tests at the moment but I'm taking a break to post this as it was already written. I'm probably going to become a little elusive in coming weeks because I'm back at uni now so you've all been warned!  
> In this chapter we have some angst but also Tony gets to go home and he even gets a hug!

Tony stepped out of the car gingerly, he was still a little unsteady on his feet after spending so long in a hospital bed. He pulled his woolly hat down further to keep out the cold – he’d never realised how much of a difference hair made – and started making his way to the entrance to stark tower, Pepper hovering at his side, ready to provide support if he tripped. He really should still be in the hospital, but Tony was never good at staying where he was put so he’d checked himself out early. 

He slowly walked through the large automatic doors and into the huge lobby. It was as busy as ever and had obviously undergone some remodelling. He was just congratulating his past self for his sense of style when the other people began to notice him. The hall swiftly fell silent before people began murmuring to each other. 

“Mr Stark!” Someone cried “He’s back!” This was the catalyst for everyone to also start yelling. People came over to him to investigate and grinned or even cheered. A few brave souls slapped him on the back (until one of them almost knocked him over and Pepper stepped in looking much like an angry mother duck – albeit a very graceful one with eye-wateringly expensive shoes). Tony was overwhelmed by the response of his workers and smiled back tentatively. He was accustomed to respect from his staff – professional admiration if he was lucky and maybe even some resentment if he was not – so this enthusiastic welcome was a surprise. Eventually he began to tire and had to cling to Pepper’s arm for support while she ushered him to the elevator. Once the doors closed he sagged against the wall. “Well that wasn’t quite the reaction I expected,” he admitted. 

Pepper just smiled softly and straightened his beanie. 

The lift doors opened to reveal the penthouse. Tony stumbled out and collapsed into the nearest chair. 

“Hey, Jarvis! I’m back!” he grinned gleefully up at the nearest camera. 

There was no immediate response which made him frown. Had someone muted Jarvis? Maybe he wasn’t running in this room for some reason? He turned to Pepper for answers and noticed that her smile of a minute ago had been replaced by a disturbingly blank expression. Tony straightened in the chair and gripped one hand tightly in the other to hide a slight tremor. 

“Pepper?” his voice sounded small and lost. 

She visibly pulled herself together “Tony, I’m sorry. I thought you remembered what happened with..” She cut herself off and looked even more stricken.

“What do you mean!? Where’s Jarvis?” 

“Jarvis… Jarvis was destroyed. Friday is the AI now in the tower.” 

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, Tony stared at Pepper, silently begging she tell him this was all a cruel joke. She broke eye contact and looked up at the camera “Say Hi Friday, Tony doesn’t remember you I’m afraid.” 

“Hello Boss, it is good to see you mostly in one piece again.” Friday’s voice was softer than Jarvis’ would have been but there was still an undercurrent of authority. The voice of the younger AI made it finally hit home that Jarvis was gone and he felt his eyes begin to water. Tony hunched down in his chair and stared at the floor. 

“I would like some time alone,” he hid his face behind an arm and tried not to sniffle. 

Pepper gently rubbed his shoulder and quietly made for the lift. 

As soon as he heard the lift door close he sagged further into the chair before curling up miserably. JARVIS’ death hurt Tony in a place that had been numb since the real Jarvis’ death so long ago. At the time he’d been so devastated he’d thought he’d never recover and only creating JARVIS had helped him move on – although now he realised the creation of JARVIS had actually enabled him to ignore the loss somewhat. Now it was as if Jarvis was dead twice over and it hurt him deeply. He’d always cared too much, despite doing his best to pretend otherwise, about his AI’s. It had seemed obvious that his creations to long outlive him – hundreds of years from now JARVIS should have been continuing to thrive and evolve, all while delivering a dry, sarcastic commentary. 

However, it seemed he’d been mistaken once again. Tony liked to consider himself as forward-thinking – maybe even a futurist on good days – so it stung that the world had left him so far behind after only a month out of it. 

Time drifted past and Tony remained curled on the seat in a haze of grief. He was too numb to cry but when he heard the lift doors open again he hid his head under his arms. He hoped whoever it was would go away but didn’t want to announce his presence. Tony jumped violently when a blanket was unexpectedly dumped on him. He threw back a corner and peered back to see his bots. Dum-E beeped quietly and poked him in the face gently while U rolled back and forth further back uncertainly. 

“Aw, guys! I’ve missed you two!!” he managed to crack a watery smile and spread his arms wide to receive an enthusiastic (if a little uncomfortable) hug from his two creations. Jarvis may be gone but the others were still fine. 


	6. Captain America Watches the News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a wee chapter today! Steve comes across a little bit all over the place as he see-saws around but the guy is really conflicted.  
> Fun fact: Captain America used to be my favorite character way back when I wasn't particularly invested in the MCU but it's been like five years since then and now I really dislike him. (I watched civil war last year and now I'm very... displeased with his character. He seems a lot better in the comics though? (However I can't say for sure as I haven't read any!) My opinion on civil war is complicated and I'm not going to go into detail! Let's just say I wrote him differently from what I intended and I didn't plan to include him at all but here we are with Steve having his own wee mini-arc! I suppose if you're a Steve fan you'll like this chapter (although why you'd be reading a fic with tags like "Team Cap stink" and "Civil war team iron man" is a mystery but oh well!).  
> Also what are people's thoughts on Tony's hat? - I just can't decide what it would look like but I feel like it would be some form of beanie!

“…And now onto our main headline of today: it has been confirmed today by Stark Industries’ CEO Virginia Potts that Tony Stark is indeed out of hospital. The billionaire was recovering from a coma caused by a severe head injury Mr Stark received when assaulted by a supporter of the Rogue Avengers at the end of last year. Mr Stark has yet to make any public appearances apart from his unexpected arrival at Stark tower earlier today.” Blurry footage of the man himself hobbling slowly across the lobby while his employees celebrated showed on the screen. Tony was hard to make out and seemed to be wearing a close-fitting hat. He was dreadfully thin and somewhat unsteady on his feet.

The view then cut back to the reporter standing outside Stark tower, the bright lights glaring in the early winter dusk. The reporter looked frozen but they were doing a good job despite the slight shiver here and there. “This has been Mr Stark’s second lengthy hospitalisation in the last twelve months and there is speculation that his health may be failing. We interviewed one of the doctors responsible for Mr Stark’s care and he said that Tony Stark’s survival is a minor medical miracle! He went on to tell us that...”

Steve Rogers changed the channel, guilt clawing away at him. He’d definitely gone too far in Siberia, the fear he’d seen on Tony’s face when he’d raised his shield to strike the final blow had haunted him far longer than it should have and had only eased a little when Tony had reappeared on the media in late July – almost a full month after Siberia. He’d appeared a little sickly then – his arm still in plaster and the haphazardly buttoned shirt showing the slightest peek of bandages. This time round Tony looked far worse and Steve couldn’t help but think he’d contributed to his ex-teammate’s condition.

It was for Bucky, he told himself vehemently. He would do anything for Bucky, right? That’s what friends do. 

That was why he was currently sitting in a tiny hotel room in some forgotten corner of the world while the authorities of every country searched for him. That was why he was now a criminal. He’d done so much for someone that probably no longer existed. Bucky Barnes may have survived the fall from the train but he’d most likely perished sometime in the intervening years. He’d been in HYDRA’s cruel hands too long. Steve would support the person Bucky became when he was unfrozen but he still wished he could have his best friend back.

Quit this self-doubt! I did the right thing! I stood up for my beliefs and refused to be bullied!!

Him? Bullied? Please, if anyone had been a bully here it wasn’t Tony – since when had the Right Thing to do involved beating one of his friends almost to death. Why hadn’t he taken Tony up on his offer to negotiate? He buried his head in his hands. He didn’t feel like he could be Captain America anymore. He wasn’t worthy.


	7. Mechanical Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! It's also fairly short but the main plot is soon starting!  
> This chapter was originally added in because I realised I hadn't addressed if Tony knew about Rhodes' injury and I wanted them to have some time to get to know each other again before it all goes wrong. (And trust me it is going to go very pear-shaped! I've been writing chapter 40 in the last couple days and things are getting wild!!)

“Hey, Tony! How you doing?” Rhodes poked his head round the bedroom door, plates of food in his hands and cutlery sticking out of his trouser pocket. He’d overdone it earlier today and after dramatically falling into Pepper’s arms had been informed he’d be spending the rest of the day in bed. He’d considered protesting but swiftly decided that a tactical retreat was in order. 

Tony had spent a good deal of time with the man after returning to the tower. He could now understand why his past self had been so close to him, Rhodes obviously enjoyed his company – the real Tony rather than the Tony the media gossip about – and Tony truly felt the same. Despite Tony’s somewhat fragile health they’d gotten up to various shenanigans that Pepper was highly exasperated about. She’d come up to the penthouse just the other day to find the whole place had become a huge domino run with the two of them egging each other on rowdily. Hanging around with Rhodes felt right, even if he couldn’t recall ever doing so in the past. 

He placed his book aside – a lengthy mystery novel he dimly recalled Pepper giving him several years ago. Who knew if he’d ever gotten round to reading it. The metal forks in Rhodes’ pocket clanked against something solid as the man walked closer to Tony’s position in bed. Tony patted the bed beside him as an invitation and Rhodes climbed up stiffly. Too stiffly. Tony narrowed his eyes and thought about how he’d seen the Colonel move. Now he thought back, it seemed the Colonel always had a very rigid gait. Then there’d been the incident where Rhodes bumped into the kitchen table yesterday morning and there’d been an awful bang. What did Rhodes have under his trousers? 

…

Tony mentally slapped himself for making it weird. 

The Colonel was now up on the bed and was struggling to remove his shoes. Tony shoved his hands away and swiftly undid the laces. He grabbed the first boot and tugged it off. The other boot was more stubborn, and he had to grab Rhodes’ leg to wrestle it off. He could feel some sort of metal framework hidden under his trousers. Tony had initially thought it was maybe armour under his clothes. Rhodes was Iron man after all! However, it looked like he’d been wrong. Unless he was very much mistaken, they were some kind of braces. 

He chucked the second shoe to join its partner on the floor without comment and Rhodes handed him his plate. 

He wolfed down his food and teased Rhodes about how awful he was at chess, despite being an officer – a discovery made the previous night. Happy had joined them and they’d played various board games - the penthouse had a surprisingly extensive collection. He’d been somewhat confused at the presence of a well-worn monopoly board (why play the game when you have the resources to do it for real?) and some others he didn’t recall enjoying. Presumably he’d known people in the last 10 years that did. 

Any topic of conversation that could lead to the Colonel’s state of health was avoided despite his curiosity: Tony hated people poking at his issues and wasn’t about to become a hypocrite. 

When Rhodes left he carefully observed his friend’s movements. Now he was looking, he definitely recognised the movements he’d seen in the simulations he ran three years ago (a rare surviving memory from that time) for prosthesis aimed for people with lower-body paralysis. 

He wished Rhodes a good night and then lay awake, puzzling out how he must have solved the issues in the prosthesis prototype. 


	8. An Uninvited Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! Tony has a confusing time this chapter and a new character is introduced - one of my favorites in fact! This chapter is pretty important because it sets events in motion properly - I kind of regard it as the true beginning of this story!   
> In other news I am knackered! (Have no fear for this story though as the chapters are already written and only require some small alterations). I have written almost 40 chapters now so I have a pretty substantial buffer! >:))

“Boss, there’s someone asking permission to enter”

Tony put down the tools he’d been using. He was in his workshop, despite being under orders from Pepper to not even think of going there. 

“Oh, who is it?” It was taking some getting used to, having Friday around, but the knowledge that he’d already made this transition before helped whenever the grief became too much. He hadn’t had the courage to ask for details about how Jarvis had died yet, but the uncertainty was affecting him badly. Had he gone out in a blaze of glory against some hacker or had Tony had to dismantle him for some reason? The very thought had been enough to give him nightmares. 

This last option seemed even more plausible when he remembered that he didn’t know the identity of the second person who’d betrayed him. Could Jarvis have been corrupted in some way and tried to kill him? He hoped he was wrong, but he had no way of disproving it without asking. 

Tony realised he had zoned out and asked Friday to repeat herself. 

“King T’Challa of Wakanda is waiting outside, Boss” 

“What’s _he_ doing here?” Tony said incredulously. 

“I don’t know, Boss. Shall I let him in?” 

Tony considered saying no but his curiosity was too much. “Let him in Friday.” 

T’Challa strode in when the doors opened, Tony couldn’t remember ever meeting him, but he knew what he looked like from photos – although then he was _Prince_ T’Challa. Another thing that had changed in the last few years. Tony could just about recall some scandal about Wakanda revealing it was the most technologically advanced country in the world, so he wondered why T’Challa was here – it certainly wasn’t for money or technology and that was all Tony really had to offer. 

“Stark,” T’Challa reached out to shake hands “It is good to see you well again.” 

Tony shook his hand and then stepped back “I’m sorry but I don’t recall us ever meeting, things are rather scrambled.” 

T’Challa nodded and a brief look of shame crossed his face “That is probably a good thing, I did not make the best of impressions the first time – which is why I’m here. I would like to offer you treatment in my country. Our medicine is far more advanced than that here” 

Tony stared at him “Why would you do this? We don’t know each other. I think?” 

“We may have only met a couple of times, but you struck me as a good man and there is no excuse for leaving you in Siberia like I did,” T’Challa looked truly regretful. 

“I’m sorry but what? Why was I in Siberia in the first place?” Tony was getting frustrated by how little he understood of this conversation. 

“You were trying to find Rogers and Barnes to make Rogers sign the accords, things went badly, and he left you there seriously injured and without any way of calling for help. I was the one who got them out of there – I felt guilty for trying to kill Barnes when he wasn’t my Father’s murderer, but I believed them when they said you had already left. I should have checked myself!” 

Tony felt a little dizzy for a second as a wave of emotion tore through him. It was gone before he could properly process what had happened but that made it no less unpleasant and he subtly grabbed the back of the chair he was standing next to for support. Tony wanted to hiss something at T’Challa about how foolish it was to ask forgiveness of an amnesiac, but he knew that this was an irrational response and rapidly quelled it. T’Challa was being far more honest than most people would be if given a get out of jail free card like this. He sighed. 

“OK so I only understood like half of what you said but from what I can tell you definitely aren’t the only guilty party – whoever those people were that lied to you are the ones truly to blame. Anyway, I don’t even remember any of this, so it doesn’t matter anyway.” Tony smiled at T’Challa. The king didn’t smile back. 

“You don’t remember Rogers either?” 

“No, should I?” Tony frowned back. 

T’Challa was beginning to look increasingly spooked – though it was only years of negotiating business deals that allowed Tony to spot the way his eyes were flicking around the workshop and the slight tightening of his jaw. He was about to demand some answers but there was a chirping noise from the bracelet round the King’s wrist. His face twisted in disappointment “Oh dear, I’d better be going. The offer still stands though, Tony.” He gently pressed a crisp piece of card into his hand, looking surprised and even more confused when Tony accepted it, and left. 

Tony was left staring after him feeling horribly confused. What a weird conversation! Why had T’Challa looked at him like he’d grown an extra head when he took the card?? He asked Friday what she thought but she was equally flummoxed. He eventually looked down at the card. It contained a phone number, handwritten in a barely legible scrawl – who would have thought the King of Wakanda would have such awful handwriting! Tony slipped the card into a pocket and plopped down in a chair. 

“Hey, Friday. Could you display all records of these ‘Accord’ things his highness referred to?” 

“Sure, Boss. Right away.” After a couple moments holograms displaying news articles, video footage and other data popped up around him. Tony sighed at the large number of items, it was going to be a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: T'Challa makes a phone call.


	9. T’Challa Owns a Phone?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeeell, this chapter is a weird one. I'm not sure if it's too obvious or not obvious enough but this is the best I could get it. I'm swithering about writing an alternate version of chapter 8 were Tony decided to go to Wakanda with T'Challa but even if I did write it I wouldn't be able to post it until certain plot points are out in the open. I have a whole heap of what if ideas for this story where a small change or two could have completely changed it which I may or may not write.

Rhodey sighed as he picked up the phone, not caring enough to look at the caller id. When would he finally get some blasted peace and quiet? “Hello, James Rhodes speaking.” 

“Good afternoon, Colonel.” He jumped at the smooth, but uncharacteristically cold voice that greeted him – he hadn’t realised T’Challa even had a phone, didn’t Wakanda stop using them like 1,000 years ago or something? 

“King T’Challa,” he greeted back, not sure what to make of the frosty tone “Why are you calling me, has something gone wrong?” 

There was a lengthy pause. Rhodey started to sweat. 

“I met Dr Stark today” T’Challa finally elaborated and Rhodey felt unease settle within him “he didn’t recall us ever meeting. In fact, he didn’t seem to recall very much about anything” There was a definite edge to his voice now. 

“Yes, well brain damage can have that effect” Rhodey replied weakly. 

T’Challa sighed “He seemed most _unlike_ himself. I may have only known him for a short while but it was common knowledge that Stark does not like being handed things and yet that and many of his other mannerisms are just _gone_. From the magnitude of his injury a loss of personality to this extent would not be expected. He doesn’t even remember _Captain Rogers_ , Colonel! That man has influenced his life in one way or another since his childhood!” 

“Yea, it’s weird how different he is now but we can’t do anything to change what happened so all anyone can do is live with it.” Rhodes injected some sadness into his tone and prayed silently that T’Challa would drop it. The last thing he needed right now was the ruler of one of the most powerful countries (if not _the_ most powerful) in the world breathing down his neck. 

“Rest assured, Colonel. I shall be looking into this to see if anything can be done.” T’Challa’s voice was sharp and Rhodes was not assured in the slightest. He knew then that he’d thoroughly failed to deflect the King’s attentions. Before he could reply T’Challa hung up. 

Rhodey grimaced as he dialled a different number into the phone. This was exactly what he didn’t need! Why did Friday even allow him to meet Tony? There were supposed to be protocols to prevent this from happening!! 

The call then connected and he pushed Friday from his thoughts. “Hello, this is Colonel James Rhodes calling…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who Rhodes is calling... :S  
> Next chapter: Tony figures out what happened with the Accords (and it's much longer than this chapter which is nice!)


	10. Tony Does his Homework

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've had labs this week and as a result things have been fairly chaotic. I should really be sleeping now (I have a 9am AGAIN) but oh well!   
> I've realised that when I reply to comments I often sound a bit... jumbled? I do read comments before I post them but I get excited and it seems things are coming out a bit weird so if anyone gets a comment like that it's just my excitement talking!

Tony groaned and slumped in his seat. He’d finally read all the information Friday had supplied him with. It had taken even longer than he’d thought as he had to look up other things that had happened in the last decade that he didn’t remember. Apparently after some kind of alien invasion in New York five years ago he ended up funding (and providing tech for) some sort of ‘Superhero’ organisation. It all seemed a bit unlikely, but he was Tony Stark – when had he ever lived a normal life? 

According to Friday, he even made the Ironman suit for Rhodes, who was a member of these so called ‘Avengers’ Tony had scrolled through the identities of the other heroes and didn’t recognise any of them. 

He watched some of the videos of the fighting. The very thought of flying around in a tin can like that made him feel sick. 

He had snorted on his coffee when he read the name of the leader – Captain America?? How on Earth was he alive? Tony was _pretty_ sure the guy had been missing, presumed dead since WWII, last he remembered. Howard would have been overjoyed his _precious_ Captain America had been found – too bad he’d killed himself and his mother in that stupid car crash. The rest of the ‘Avengers’ were just as strange but less familiar: a Norse God (!!!), a superspy, modern-day Robinhood, a man with a devastating temper and of course Rhodes. This world he’d woken up in was becoming more and more alien. 

He then skipped to the stuff about the accords, which had happened only last year. The various governments of the world had decided the Avengers needed to be kept in check and, after reading the casualty reports, Tony agreed. Rogers hadn’t. 

Tony had been on the edge of his seat when he read about how things had deteriorated. First the bombing of the UN, then the fight at the airport which resulted in Rhodes almost dying (here was the injury that had left him paralysed) and most of the Avengers on the Raft. There was video footage of Rhodes’ fall but Tony decided not to watch. His imagination was already doing a good enough job there. 

Finally, _he_ had gone to that Siberian bunker, all alone, to talk some sense into Rogers. There was no record of what had transpired in there – only a report about the condition he had been found in hours later, unconscious and slowly bleeding out with a half-crushed ribcage and Captain America’s trademark shield lying bloodstained beside him. Yet another occasion in the last decade that Tony had almost not survived. He rubbed at the scarring on his chest, this must be the second betrayal Pepper had referred to. 

“Friday, do I still have the shield?” he asked, somewhat dreading the answer but morbidly curious anyway. 

“Yes, Boss. It is located 3 meters behind you, under the workbench with the new Stark phone designs.” There was a slight tone of trepidation in her voice and Tony silently congratulated his past self for the skill he had in creating AIs. A skill that appeared to have left him after the whole brick incident. Tony had discovered earlier that day when he went to fix a bug in Friday’s coding that he just couldn’t seem to get what was in his head to come out correctly. Thankfully this issue only seemed to affect him when working on artificial intelligences, but it was still alarming. What if it spread? Tony was nothing if he couldn’t make things. 

“Thanks Friday” he finally replied before heading over to where she’d said. The shield was in a cardboard box and covered by a dusty sheet that made Tony cough when he threw it aside. It was still splattered in his blood. He gingerly picked it up and compared the bloody edge with his scar. They matched. Tony dropped the shield with a loud clang and stumbled away, this meant Captain America had tried to _kill_ him. What happened in Siberia?? 

He was cut off from his rapidly spiralling thoughts by Pepper striding purposefully into the room, a disapproving frown on her face. 

“So, Tony. What part of stay out of the workshop until you’ve recovered do you not understand?” 

Tony tried to smile appeasingly at her, but she picked up on his lingering distress. 

“What’s wrong?” she looked around and spotted the shield before he had to answer “Ah.” She strode over to it and rewrapped it in the sheet, put it back in the box and then strode out of the room, calling over her shoulder “I got us food. See you up in the kitchen in a minute.” 

Tony stared after her for a second before he realised she’d taken the shield with her. He stumbled into the lift and entered the kitchen to the aroma of some of the best smelling burgers he’d ever encountered. The lift pinged again, and Pepper was next to him, the box containing the shield was no longer in her arms. 

“Where is it?” he asked, slightly anxiously. 

“I put it with all of the other things the rogue Avengers left behind” She rubbed his shoulder comfortingly “Anyway, dinner’s getting cold.” 

There were three places set at the table and he was initially puzzled – Rhodes was expected to return in a few days time, wasn’t he? That was when Happy stepped out of the lift, travel-sized bottle of ketchup in hand. Before his accident, whenever Happy ate in the penthouse he brought his ketchup with him. Tony could remember hating the stuff and refusing to even store a bottle of it in the kitchen in a petty strop after Happy had once managed to squirt him with the stuff. He didn’t ban it from the penthouse entirely (although past him had been tempted) as Happy seemed to have some sort of strange fascination with the stuff. He didn’t find it so utterly disgusting nowadays (he’d pinched some of Rhodes’ fries back in the hospital and they had been drenched with the stuff!) but he definitely didn’t love it. 

He liked spending time with Happy – his memories of his friend/bodyguard/chauffeur were far more intact than of Pepper or Rhodes so he didn’t have to worry so much about messing up. 

They all sat round the overly large table leftover from the Avengers’ time at the tower that Pepper insisted they use rather then the couches. Happy happily squirted ketchup on the edge of his plate while gossiping with Pepper about Rachel in accounting and Tony raised an eyebrow when the half-empty bottle made a loud wheezing noise in protest. Pepper giggled slightly from behind the cover of her burger. It always amused him to see his friends like this. The world most likely believed they dined on exclusively five star meals cooked by a personal chef using only the finest ingredients but here they were eating greasy burgers and fries from the cheap diner down the street. Pepper could cook fairly well (and even Tony could produce the occasional passable meal if given a lot of time) but Happy was truly the masterchef of the group, not that that was a difficult feat! He hadn’t seen first-hand Rhodes’ skills in the kitchen but had heard awful things (there was a reason the two of them had lived off beans on toast and instant noodles when they were at MIT!). 

After they’d eaten Pepper placed Tony’s medication down in front of him and Happy nudged over a glass of water. He shot her an unimpressed look but didn’t kick up a fuss, he knew better. When it came to matters of people’s health she wasn’t to be opposed! 

He swallowed the various pills and they migrated over to the couches by the TV. Happy wanted to watch Downton Abbey _again_ but they managed to talk him down with offering to watch a different period drama. They’d already seen Poldark and he could even still remember what had happened! The second season had finished airing before Tony’s coma and the third wasn’t coming out until June. Pepper wanted to watch Pride and Predujuce _again_ (it seemed his friends were predictable!) and he tried to protest but in the end he acquiesced. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as he liked to make it out to be (not that he would ever admit to liking it aloud!). To be totally honest watching period dramas was a bit of a guilty pleasure of his and he’d be lying if he didn’t shed a tear or two during the more emotional moments. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ketchup thing is based off of some of the weird behaviour some people have about sauces. I personally have nothing against ketchup (although one of my flatmates does) and it is mainly inspired by my best friend in primary school who liked to eat all sorts of food with HP sauce so she would often have some with her and would produce it at weird times.  
> I swithered for some time about what Tony and co would watch in the way of TV but remembered that Happy supposedly likes 'Downton Abbey'. This story is set in early 2017 so 'Downton Abbey' has finished and the other popular period drama of the time ('Poldark') is between seasons so I decided they would watch 'Pride and Prejudice', which my family all enjoy to varying degrees (although I suspect some may be acting like Tony here and secretly enjoy it much more than they let on) but I have never seen it!   
> I looked up TV shows that came out in 2016/early 2017 and almost made them watch 'the living and the dead' (because I'm still a Merlin fan deep down and Colin Morgan plays the protagonist) but I watched the first episode and I doubt Tony's poor heart could take it! It may be period drama but it is mainly a horror show (although it is all psychological with very little gore and barely any jump scares - which is actually terrifying because they put you in situations where you expect one and there just... isn't. I was v unsettled). I watched it a good number of hours ago and I'm still feeling a little jittery and on edge so if that's your thing I very much recommend! (I'm going to have nightmares though :S )  
> I think that's all I have to say! The next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for!! Peter is back!


	11. Mr Stark!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a wee chapter today but it contains Peter! (Finally!) This scene was supposed to be Peter's only cameo in the story but then the plot changed a little and he became a central character later on. In fact I think he has another chapter coming up very soon so Spidey fans can rejoice! (If you survived the seven chapter drought)

“Mr Stark!” The enthusiastic shout startled Tony out of his sleepy daze. He was currently sat on a bench in a park and there was a masked figure in a tight red and blue outfit racing towards him with no sign of stopping. 

“oof!” The stranger collided with him and Tony tensed until he realised he was being hugged rather than attacked. Hugged very tightly. He wheezed a little when he was finally released and looked up at the person. Judging by their height and build, it was a fairly young boy – the cheery, youthful voice only adding strength to his theory. 

“Oh man! Mr Stark!! It’s so good to see you again! I like your hat!” The stranger kept up the one-sided conversation for quite some time and was obviously highly excited to see him. The only problem he had was that the kid was soon going to realise Tony had no idea who he was. He was only here in the first place because he’d had one nightmare too many and just needed to get out. He’d gotten dressed and stealthily left the tower (which maybe hadn’t been the best of ideas now he thought about it seeing as it was currently attempting to snow a little), letting his feet take him wherever they fancied. It hadn’t been long before he had gotten tired and had planted himself on this park bench. If he’d known that coming here would mean a possibly stressful encounter with someone he used to know then he would have stayed in the tower – nightmares and all! 

“Mr Stark are you feeling OK?” Tony cursed silently, why did this kid have to notice! He cleared his throat awkwardly and made eye contact with the boy to deliver the bad news “I’m sorry kid, my head got pretty blitzed by that brick and I don’t remember anyone who has fashion sense quite like yours.” 

Now that he was looking at the kid’s outfit he noticed some interesting features – he could see the tell-tale padding of a parachute and what were the strange devices at his wrists? Also, he was pretty sure it was made from materials produced by SI. “You know while we’re on that topic, who made you that getup? Asking for a friend you know.” 

The stranger didn’t say anything for a beat, only the slight trembling of their hands giving away their feelings. “You made it, Mr Stark” The voice had lost all it’s previous enthusiasm and it broke halfway through. 

This was horrible. He may not remember him, but this kid seemed really nice, the poor boy had done nothing to deserve this. What had Tony been to him though? There weren’t exactly many openings for him to meet teenagers in high-tech suits – or for him to build suits for said teenagers. He fixed his gaze on the ground “Oh. I’m really sorry I don’t remember.” 

“That’s OK Mr Stark, it’s not your fault! … you’ll just have to get to know me again!” He plonked himself down on the bench next to Tony. “I’m known round here as Spiderman,” he then lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper “but my name is really Peter Parker.” 

“Nice to meet you again, Spider-kid” Tony smirked when Peter squawked in indignation at being called the wrong name. 

“It’s SpiderMAN, not kid! MAN!!” 

Maybe there was hope after all that things could be repaired. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any bleach fans here? I saw the Bleach live action film last Friday and I am v confused!! How can it be so good but also so bad? Half the cast are adapted perfectly (looking at you, Rukia and Ichigo! Karin and Yuzu were really good too though), many scenes are are beautiful (the opening scene aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! The hollows look a little weird but the Grand Fisher looks like it crawled out of a ghlibi film so I won't complain) and I almost cried at the end (don't @ me!!). Yet the other half of characters are just pure blegh (basically any time Orihime was on screen - I was not aware her character could be wrecked further than it is in canon - and seeing Byakuya and Renji so two dimensional was painful). I really hope there's a sequel - the soul society arc is my favorite!  
> I've recently gotten back into bleach somewhat so don't be surprised if I write something - I already had an idea and my sister doesn't approve! XD
> 
> For those of you that haven't seen/don't like bleach my rant is now over! Next chapter the FUN begins and certain characters unintentionally let some cats partially out of the bag.


	12. Getting Cosy With the Bathroom Sink

Tony pulled the soft beanie off his head and scratched frustratedly at his scalp. His hair was growing back but it was still nowhere near the length it had been before. It currently lay close to his head, sticking out in all directions as it started to become long enough to curl. Tony made eye contact with his reflection, he looked ridiculous. He shoved the hat back on and opened the door to leave the bathroom. 

Only to hear approaching voices and swiftly closed the door. He really didn’t feel up to social interaction right now: he’d been trying to fix that glitch for poor Friday again, but he’d only managed to make both of them upset and give himself a raging headache. The voices became clearer as they came closer and halted – waiting for the lift. One was Colonel Rhodes but the other wasn’t one he immediately recognised. He didn’t intend to eavesdrop until he heard his name mentioned. 

“…Stark is recovering …well. The damage is a little more extensive than expected but he is still functioning adequately.” Rhodes was saying. 

“Is there any sign of him remembering?” 

“No. Everything has been working perfectly so far.” 

“If everything stops being _perfect_ I expect to be informed. I’ve been very lenient Colonel but there’s only so many exceptions I’m willing to make. This is Stark’s last chance and if he becomes a threat again I expect you to deal with him appropriately.” The lift dinged, and Tony heard footsteps enter. 

“Understood, Sir.” The colonel’s voice was treacherously smooth, and Tony shuddered silently. He heard the lift doors close and breathed a sigh of relief, they were gone. 

He was about to exit the room when he heard the Colonel swear quietly to himself. Or maybe only one of them had left! The panic was back and increasing as he heard footsteps approaching his hiding place. Tony cast around desperately for a way out and spotted the cupboard under the sink used for cleaning supplies. He yanked the door open and crammed his body inside, making sure to close the door behind him. It was a tight fit with spray bottles of cleaning fluids digging into his back and for once Tony was glad of his lack of height. 

Rhodes entered the room and sighed loudly. Tony clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent any sound escaping. 

“This is becoming a right mess. First T’Challa and his suspicions and now Ross with his stupid ego. I never should have signed the Accords.” Rhodes sounded stressed and for a moment Tony felt sympathy but that was gone when he remembered that Rhodes had been conspiring against him not 5 minutes ago! Sympathy was swiftly replaced with bitterness and disappointment. Yet again someone he’d trusted had betrayed him! It was tempting to burst out and confront the Colonel, but Tony didn’t fancy being ‘dealt with.’ The sudden gurgling of water directly above him made him jump but he managed not to hit anything. There were sounds of splashing – presumably the Colonel was washing his face – followed by another heavy sigh before Rhodes left the room. 

Tony listened for a full five minutes to ensure Rhodes didn’t return before he even attempted to climb out of his hiding place. By this point his breathing and heart rate had slowed back to normal levels but he’d developed a cramp in his leg and spent the next while on the floor, massaging the offending limb and cursing. 

While this was rather humiliating and painful it gave him time to consider his options. Open confrontation was already ruled out and if he was going to investigate this he would have to be very careful. Rhodes was supposed to have been his best friend so anyone around him could be part of this, even Friday – and Tony was her creator! However, he suspected Friday was somewhat neutral: she hadn’t informed him of the issue, but she also had stayed quiet about his whereabouts – if she was truly against him she would have outed him before he’d even known something was up. In fact how had this Ross guy gotten into such a high-security area of the tower in the first place? The whole encounter stank of betrayal like a rotting corpse. The only ray of hope was Rhodes’ comment about T’Challa – maybe he would help him? 

Tony finally managed to push himself up of the floor and trudged miserably back to the workshop. He pretended not to notice how some of his things weren’t quite where he’d left them and swallowed the cloying bitterness that arose at the thought of Rhodes and Ross going through his projects, deciding whether he was a ‘danger’ or not. 

He wanted nothing more than to ask Friday about this Ross guy but decided that was too risky – Friday may appear to be neutral, but it could all be an act and without his coding skills he had no way of knowing if she was compromised. For now, he’d have to let it go. Anyway, he only knew for sure that things would get ugly if he remembered something – maybe they’d leave him alone if his memory remained damaged. 

He picked up his third favourite screwdriver and the prototype of a project he was working on. 

“Friday put some music on please.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, so some beans were spilled there!! Now Tony is somewhat aware of the mess he's stuck in. :S   
> AAAaaaaAaaah I have things I want to say but don't want to spoil stuff later on, how frustrating!!  
> Next chapter: more Peter!
> 
> And now for the regularly (it seems I've done this several weeks in a row now so I'm not going to bother fighting it! XD ) scheduled film review! I went to the cinema this weekend to see Spiderman: into the Spiderverse and it was v v v good! Possibly the best film I've ever seen!! (although I got pretty dehydrated from ugly crying at some parts). It was a very good thing that the theater was mostly empty as I just about yeeted myself out of my body in horror during this one scene (if you've seen the film you know the one! - hopefully?). But yea 100000/10 recommend, it is a v beautiful film with great characters and plot (see the yeeting remark) and John Mulaney as Spider-Pork has got to be one of the funniest things ever!
> 
> On another note, I've realised despite my initial "I don't care what you think so leave me alone" attitude towards posting my stuff here I actually really enjoy reading comments so while I very much understand people feeling uncomfortable commenting I would like to say I'm not the dragon I probably sounded like in earlier notes so feel free to comment/not comment/whatever makes you comfortable.


	13. Choose your Fighter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm stillllll alivvvvvvve! It has been A WEEk but all my essays and lab reports are done and now I can sleep again... for like two days anyway.  
> This chapter is pretty short but I think this is the one that has made me saddest, which doesn't really make sense as it is fairly innocuous (especially given some of the things that are going to happen) but idk the end of this scene made me feel like ouch.

Tony was sat on the same bench as the last time he’d met the kid (it turned out it was along one of the kid’s patrol routes) and massaged his temples in an attempt to lessen the twinges of pain from yet _another_ headache. He’d lasted a few days since his close call before deciding he needed to contact T’Challa. Not knowing felt like having a splinter embedded under his skin – he couldn’t help worrying over the problem in a never-ending cycle of unhelpful and often distressing thoughts. He’d decided to do something when Pepper had asked him if he was feeling OK. If other people were beginning to notice something was off then continuing in partial ignorance would only lead to him endangering himself! 

A couple of hours ago he had left all his tech back at the tower and had snuck out, avoiding his own security system. It was a risk, but the King seemed to have a strong moral code and Tony couldn’t imagine him being part of the conspiracy. 

The only problem was how to get a message to him – all communications in the tower were monitored by Friday and Tony was probably being watched every time he left the tower, so he couldn’t just go to a phone box outside the tower. However, if he was seen having a casual chat with someone they wouldn’t suspect that he was actually using the meeting to send a message. 

He had asked Friday about Peter yesterday (she knew about the first time he’d gone out as he had had his phone on him at the time so he hadn’t given much away in doing so) and how they knew each other and had decided Peter was his best bet to carry his message. Peter was loyal to Tony and honest to a fault and how he’d maintained a (mostly) secret identity for this long was a mystery to him. He was also fairly unknown in the international superhero community so had probably been overlooked by the conspiracy against him. He regretted dragging the kid into a potentially dangerous situation, but he didn’t know who else he could turn to. 

It was then that Peter arrived, and Tony breathed a sigh of relief. 

“How you doing Mr Stark?!” the Kid bounced over enthusiastically, a grin probably under the mask. 

“Things are fine” Tony tried to smile but it probably looked more like he was showing off how sharp his teeth were. He slowly slid the envelope with what he wanted Peter to do into his hand. Peter looked confused initially but didn’t question when Tony stubbornly kept the conversation going on safer topics – such as Peter’s grades and how the vigilante life was going. It seemed Peter was quite the smart cookie as they discussed some of his ideas of projects and Tony almost wished Peter was his actual intern (although a part of him was very glad he wasn’t – how could he have so. Much. Energy??) They chatted for a while until Tony began to tire; being sneaky was exhausting. They then hugged – and despite feeling like his ribcage was caught in one of the vices in his workshop Tony used it as an opportunity to whisper in Peter’s ear “I’m sorry about dragging you into this but there’s people I trusted plotting against me and I don’t know who else I can rely on.” Peter tensed a little (which Tony’s ribs did _not_ appreciate!) but continued hugging him. 

“You can’t rely on me either Mr Stark.” Tony froze at the anguished whisper “They came before you got out the hospital and said that there were things I couldn’t tell you or I’ll never see Aunt May again.” The Kid sniffed, and Tony felt his heart break clean in two “OK, that’s fine kid, but can you deliver my message? If you can’t that’s fine. I’ll just find someone else.” They both knew he was lying. Peter was his only hope but he didn’t want to pressure the kid

“No, it’s fine! I’ll try my best!!” Peter continued to sniffle, and Tony felt awful. How had he become so attached in such a short time? 

“Thank you but don’t take any unnecessary risks, it’s your family’s safety on the line and the city needs Spiderman more than it needs me.” He stood up and patted him on the shoulder “See you around kid.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so I feel like I need to clarify that Tony only says Peter is more important because he still has no idea he is Iron Man and tbh he doesn't remember inventing much stuff other than weapons, which he feels guilty about and doesn't know he's already dealt with mostly. Add this to the fact he knows there's some stuff still not quite right with him healthwise and that he has changed a lot as a person so as far as he's concerned he's just a very rich inventor that gained his wealth through means he doesn't approve of and can't even redeem himself by inventing better things because he is unable to. On the other hand Peter is so young and smart and just a very good person overall and he doesn't want to drag him down. I'm pretty sure Peter was very upset after this scene but I didn't want to write about that. 
> 
> Also, on a completely unrelated topic, I had a mochi for the first time in 6 months and it was A GOOD DECISION. (If you don't know what mochi are they are kind of like these Japanese sweet and squishy lumps of mushed rice, often with a filling - in this case red bean paste - and you have been missing out!! Although some people really don't like the texture so maybe not...) 
> 
> Next chapter: T'Challa's phone makes another appearance


	14. T’Challa Owns a Phone?! Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done!! Yay! This part is definitely not one of my favorites but sometimes you just have to stop poking at it and say it is done!  
> I saw Captain Marvel and it was GREAT! (a solid 100/10) I was a little wary beforehand because I wasn't liking what I was heard a while back about Carol Danvers being basically Steve Rogers but female but she was her own character and I really liked how she was a much more realistic than say Black Widow (who has the emotional depth of a puddle - can you tell I'm not a fan?) - she makes faces at stuff, has a full range of emotions and there was no love interest shoehorned into the storyline (although her relationship with Maria could be interpreted as romantic or platonic which I really liked). Young Fury is hilarious (Laser-tag suit, haha!) and I am very sad he became so mean later on in the MCU. The plot twists were also great and certainly one of them is hilarious. The star of the film was definitely GOOSE!! (I love goose v much and I hope the four cat actors that played Goose will get lots of scritches). But yea I'm shook by how good it was and I feel I'm not doing it justice in my wee rant. :/

T’Challa eyed his phone as it rang obnoxiously on his desk. Shuri had changed the ringtone to another of those awful American pop songs again it seemed. Honestly, why was she always like this? They both had ridiculous amounts of work to do but somehow she managed to squeeze in time for elaborate pranks without letting it impact on her duties. He would have to come up with some sort of suitable revenge but first he’d better answer the phone. 

He picked up the cursed device to read the caller ID – not a number he knew but the country code was American – and sighed, he sincerely hoped this was Dr Stark. Not many people had his number, everyone in Wakanda had Komoyo beads – making phones redundant except for contacting the outside world. Shuri had offered once to combine the blasted thing with his beads but he had declined, most of the people who contacted him on it were diplomats and world leaders of varying levels of stuffiness and he took some joy from occasionally ‘losing’ his phone. 

He accepted the call and put the device to his ear “Hello, who is this?” he asked politely. 

There was a pause “Um, is this Mr- I mean Your uh Highness Black Panther Sir...?” The voice at the other end sounded very young and nervous. 

“Who is this and how did you get my number?” he asked, holding back an unkinglike snort. 

“Oh, yea um, I’m Peter Parker, Mr Stark’s intern, and I’m calling you because Mr Stark asked me to give you a message.” 

T’Challa frowned to himself “Why is he not phoning himself, is everything alright over there?” 

“Not really!” The boy’s voice was becoming more shrill “um Mr Stark said it wasn’t safe for him to phone you directly – can I tell you the message?” 

“Sure.” He wondered to himself what could be going on in the states for Stark act like this – he had been investigating some unpleasant rumours surrounding the whole brick debacle, but he’d thought that was all they were: rumours. Of course, he had been concerned when he’d visited Stark – the man was very quiet and withdrawn compared to last time they’d met and when T’Challa had handed Stark his card he hadn’t met any of the resistance Stark was moderately infamous for. That and the complete absence of recognition regarding anything to do with the Avengers had been alarming. The Tony Stark he’d met last year had lived for the Avengers Initiative! 

“He said to tell you that he overheard Colonel Rhodes being told by someone called Ross that if Mr Stark recovers his memories he will be ‘dealt with.’ He also says that he has reason to suspect others close to him knew about this, but he heard that you were suspicious of Colonel Rhodes, so he thought it might be the safest bet to get help from you.” 

T’Challa frowned. It was almost a certainty that this Ross character was Secretary Ross which was worrying. Ross had access to significant power both from his position as Secretary of State and his leading role in the operation of the Accords. The council was what decided how the Accords were to work but it was Ross that carried it out and of course he had had a long and successful military career so would have many contacts there. Ross had always been against the existence of groups like the Avengers, although T’Challa suspected it was more about the existence of the individuals themselves. He had seen some half-erased reports of Ross’ pursuit of the Hulk back when Ross was a General and it seemed to be based more off a personal grudge and maybe some fear of Dr Banner rather than the Hulk being an actual threat. Not that he wasn’t a threat back then but Banner had learned control, something the Secretary had discounted as impossible at the time, meaning he had endangered many lives needlessly by not exploring all of the options available. 

If Ross had set his sights on taking Stark down for some imagined slight it was cause for concern. Was he going to fixate on them one by one until all enhanced humans or other ‘superheroes’ (as the media liked to call them) were locked away? Surely Ross knew that was a foolish endeavour?? 

“What does he require from me?” T’Challa asked. “There are very few actions I can make without revealing my involvement.” He tried not to think of his rash words to Colonel Rhodes earlier in the week. Ross likely already knew T’Challa at least suspected something was amiss, if only he hadn’t been so rattled by the changes Stark had undergone! 

“He said he thinks it sensible to look for any evidence of what Ross could be up to but he wasn’t sure where to start with that. Also he would like your sister’s help in checking the damage to his brain and possibly her hacking skills as he can’t remember how, and he needs to check if Friday is compromised.” 

“That seems sensible, thank you for this information Mr Parker. I’ll ask my sister immediately.” 

There was another pause and he was about to hang up, but Parker spoke again. “Mr T’Challa, um I’m kind of a double agent in this. There’s things they told me not to tell Mr Stark or they’d … they’d…” his voice trailed off and T’Challa didn’t quite catch what he mumbled. 

“Or they’d what?” he asked, seething that someone thought they could just go around threatening whoever they pleased – especially someone as young as Peter, he didn’t sound much older than his sister! This was not a good thought and T’Challa tried to ignore his increasing fury. 

“He said that I would never see Aunt May again!” The boy’s voice wobbled “Mr T’Challa, I don’t know what to do! I want to stop anything bad happening to Mr Stark, but Aunt May is the only family I have left! What if I’ve already done too much and when I get home she’s g-gone?!” he was fully crying now and T’Challa could feel his nose starting to run in sympathy. 

“Who threatened you?” he asked fiercely. Judging by the evidence coming to light, it seemed Secretary Ross should be nowhere near the Accords or children. 

“I don’t know, it was dark, and I didn’t see their faces.” Peter sounded distraught. 

T’Challa sighed, he wanted nothing more than to offer for this boy and his Aunt shelter in Wakanda but that would tell Ross he was onto him “Would you like me to set up some of my people to watch and make sure no one tries to hurt her?” 

“Please” 

He took the Aunt’s name and address and then said goodbye: “OK goodnight Mr Parker and thank you for your help. I’ll be in touch if anything comes up.” 

“Bye, Mr T’Challa!” He hung up and tossed the phone back on the desk before striding out of his office, he had a little nuisance to talk to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Tony has a bad time (sorry)  
> The next chapter is still a work in progress because I'm unhappy with part of it so it might take a wee while.


	15. Sweet Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains past canonical character death but not in detail - not sure if it counts as major or not though?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while and a half hasn't it! I released this chapter needed rewriting (somehow it doubled in length in the process!) but I'm currently trying to study for finals so my life is a little all over the place and will likely continue to be so until the summer :/ Yay!

Tony woke with a jarring suddenness and immediately curled up in a ball, shuddering violently. He was so terrified that when he noticed that at some point Colonel Rhodes had arrived he clung to him like a small child while Rhodes rubbed his back reassuringly and told him silly stories of things the two of them had gotten up to when they were at university together. Tony had no memories of it but found the stories soothing nevertheless. 

Eventually when he had calmed enough, Rhodes asked him what the dream had been about. Normally Tony would never tell _anyone_ about one of his nightmares but he could feel sleep clawing him back and if he succumbed now he would be guaranteed have another nightmare. Maybe telling someone would help? The words were bursting out before he could reconsider. “It was pretty messed up…” He almost stopped there but Rhodes’ expression made it clear he didn’t care for Tony’s self-dismissal. He shakily told Rhodes the bare bones of the dream, making sure to leave out the horrifying details that his mind was fixated on. 

The dream had started out fairly innocuously with Tony looking out the window of his parents’ winter residence – a sizeable mansion located in Florida. There was a thick layer of snow covering the gardens and the ocean was frozen over (which was obviously virtually impossible in reality, even in winter!). The house was cold and he shivered as he listened to his parents talk behind him. He didn’t know what they were saying but in that strange way of dreams he understood that they were going to go on a car journey. They got into the car, Howard was driving and his mother sat in the passenger seat, leaving Tony on his own in the back to sulk. They drove through the snow, the temperature in the car slowly decreasing as he began to argue with his father. Who knows what the disagreement had been about but eventually Howard stopped the car and ordered him out before driving away. 

Suddenly Tony had _known_ that something bad was about to happen and he had sprinted after the car, stumbling in the snowdrifts at the side of the road. There was the roar of an engine behind him suddenly and he spun round to see Howard’s car speeding towards him. He looked though the windscreen expecting Howard to be glaring back at him but it was the face of a stranger at the wheel. The shock froze him in place and the car collided with him. It hadn’t hurt – dream him was completely uninjured! – but the crumpled bonnet lay heavily on his chest and he was now pinned down with the snow leaching away his body heat. 

He heard a groan then and looked off to the side to see his parents lying on the ground. The stranger had slowly gotten down from the car and approached his parents. Tony had been powerless to stop him as the stranger had murdered his parents without a shred of remorse or mercy. When his mother had finally breathed her last the killer had removed his mask and turned to face him before smiling mechanically. At this point the cold had become overwhelming and as the stranger had walked away it had felt as if Tony was turning to ice. He had woken up then. 

Tony had had many bad dreams over the years – even before his experience with the ten rings his brain had been perfectly capable of gifting him the odd dream that had him on edge for a couple of days. It was always the ones based on reality that were the worst – which meant that when he’d returned from Afghanistan there had been no shortage of absolute nightmares! What worried him was that this dream had been far too detailed to be entirely fabricated. The way blood had run down Howard’s face, the stranger’s mask, the crushing weight of the car on his chest and many of the other details had all been _remembered_ rather than _imagined_. 

Which was disturbing seeing as he hadn’t been present for his parent’s deaths and regardless it had been a car accident, not murder! 

He looked up at Rhodes when he finished, who was staring at him with a pitying look in his eye that made Tony uncomfortable. He hadn’t confided in his fears about the dream’s inspiration. He didn’t know Rhodes’ intentions towards him and it was difficult enough for him just to tell him of what had happened. He didn’t think the contents of the dream itself was too incriminating: his parent’s car accident was common knowledge and the dream could easily be explained away as an overactive imagination rearranging events. 

“Have you been remembering to take your medicine, Tony?” he asked seriously. 

“I knew I was forgetting _something_.” He said flippantly and tried to laugh. 

Rhodes didn’t seem to see the funny side and got up to fetch Tony’s pills. 

It was when Rhodes returned with the medicines and a glass of water from the en suite that Tony noticed the braces were visible for the first time. They were close fitting enough to be worn underneath trousers but Rhodes was currently wearing the shorts and t-shirt he’d been sleeping in and the hurriedly strapped on braces were on full show. 

He took the various pills without complaint and then lay back down. One of the reasons he ‘forgot’ to take them in the first place was the drowsiness and stifling calmness they caused. He couldn’t work after taking them – he could barely think at all under their influence – and he hated it! Luckily the drowsiness came in handy here and soon the two of them were sound asleep in Tony’s bed. 

They woke late the next morning to find their limbs tangled together along with the blankets like some sort of monster of the deep. It took a lot of swearing and flailing around before they were free and when Pepper arrived midway through she just stood on the side-lines, having a good laugh. On the surface it was a perfect start to the day. And yet the knowledge of his friend’s betrayal lingered in the back of his mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still somewhat unconvinced by the nightmare part but it was WAAAAAY better than what I originally had so here it is!   
> It was difficult to write something that seemed somewhat like a dream without completely overdoing it. I don't know about anyone else but it is always the dreams about things familiar to you that can be the most unsettling!
> 
> In other news I had lasagna for the first time in over a decade (??) the other day and I now UNDERSTAND Garfield! It's so GOOD but also SO. MUCH. WORK.
> 
> Next chapter: Tony does some sneaky stuff and is sad  
> Don't expect to see it any time soon though as that chapter needs modifying too!


	16. Deception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again it has been a while! I'm currently in bed feeling very sorry for myself but at least something good has come of being unwell :S  
> The next few chapters are kind of skirting around non-consensual drug usage (sort of? - more details in the end notes) but I've been verrrry vague about it. To be honest I'm not sure if this counts as what this warning is usually used for but oh well.

Tony stretched his leg out in front of him and listened to it crack loudly. He was crouched under one of his workbenches in the workshop, supposedly taking a nap after his rough night. Friday had been confused why he wanted to nap under a table rather than on the couch but she had accepted his excuse that he felt more comfortable in a smaller, enclosed space and only made sure Dum-E brought him the blankets draped over the back of the couch. She’d probably just dismissed it as one of his new idiosyncrasies. 

In reality he was hiding from Friday so he could utilise the bug he’d planted in Rhodes’ braces that morning when they had woken up in his bed. Dum-E could still see what he was up to but Tony wasn’t concerned about his oldest bot’s loyalties. Everyone apart from him always dismissed Dum-E’s intelligence so he would be very surprised if anyone had thought to involve Dum-E in this mess. Of course there wasn’t much Dum-E could do to help him either – at least not without alerting Friday. Besides he had already lost Jarvis and Tony didn’t want to imagine living in a world without his oldest creation as well so he had no intention of risking Dum-E’s safety. 

He dragged his attention back to his headphones. The Colonel was currently in a meeting with the man from before – Thaddeus Ross, once a General in the US Army and now the flaming _Secretary of State!_ So far all they’d discussed had been the situation with the Rogue Avengers – the Pro Captain America marches were not dying down and if anything were getting more violent. The conversation then moved to Tony “So Colonel, what developments have there been with Stark?” Tony cringed, he regretted telling Rhodes about his dream. While at the time he hadn’t thought the dream had contained anything that could compromise his situation he had forgotten that his knowledge of the entire last _decade_ was _far_ from complete – and besides, he barely knew Rhodes! He and Ross were possibly his enemies. 

Rhodes remained silent for a moment – probably choosing his words “Mostly he seems to be functioning as expected-”

“However?” 

Rhodes sighed audibly “Last night he had a dream that was very closely related to what happened in Siberia. Luckily he seems to have dismissed it as just a regular dream and doesn’t have any suspicions yet” Tony frowned, how could his dream be at all related to Siberia? From what he knew the only thing the dream had in common was the wintery conditions and besides, it had obviously been about his parents’ untimely demises! 

“Well we both know what this means; he’s remembering. It’s best we act now before all our work is undone.” 

“Please reconsider, Mr Secretary. It could just be a one off, maybe he won’t remember anything else. He said he’d been forgetting to take his medication so as long as he takes it more regularly it should be fine!” Rhodes’ voice remained level and respectful but Tony thought he could almost hear a hint of desperation. He supposed it should make him glad that the Colonel must feel some level of empathy towards him. Maybe that had been friends in the past after all – in the days after he had discovered Rhodes’ allegiance to Ross he had wondered if Rhodes had been planted in his social circle to keep an eye on him. It would certainly have explained why he had no memories of him from before the incident, but surely Rhodes wouldn’t be so willing to persuade Ross to spare him if this was the case? 

Ross hummed as if he was considering what Rhodes was saying. Listening to this made Tony feel sick. This man was slowly and painfully wrapping Rhodes round his finger, every time something happened, moving the goalposts slightly to make things more and more difficult until Rhodes would be left with no choice but to do what Ross wanted and still feel like he owed him favours for the rest of his life. Tony hated this guy and they’d never even properly met! 

“Colonel, I know you are very attached to Stark, but can you set that aside for a moment and see that he has the potential to be extremely dangerous! Remember what happened with Ultron – people died because Stark can’t keep a lid on his paranoia. Look I know neutralising Stark will hurt but it’s our job to prevent anything like Sokovia happening again. Stark is on his last chance now, Colonel. The situation is getting too unpredictable – if he remembers _any_ of the blacklisted topics then you bring him in. No questions.” 

“Yes Sir.” Rhodes sounded about as enthusiastic as a deflating balloon. 

“Well then we can bring this meeting to a close. I expect further reports on Stark’s condition on a weekly basis but contact me directly if there are any sudden changes.” There was the sound of footsteps and then the creak of hinges – presumably a door opening. 

“Oh, and Colonel. Do make sure Stark remembers to take his medication from now on. Maybe you should ask his Doctor’s to up his prescription too.” 

Rhodes sighed quietly “Of course Sir” the sound hinges again signalled that the door had been closed. The meeting was over. Tony removed his headphones but remained under the table – this was becoming a right mess! 

The murmur of voices could be heard from the headphones. Tony almost switched off the signal from the listening device, but his curiosity was too great. 

Rhodes seemed to be on the phone to someone, as Tony could only hear his voice but they were obviously discussing the meeting that had just finished. 

“Pepper, I’m sorry bu…” Tony tore the headphones off and almost threw them across the room him but reconsidered when he remembered he was hiding from Friday. His hands trembled as he dropped the device, the occasional phrase still distinguishable. 

“…let Ross lock him up..” 

“…”

“I saw the plans last week for how they would keep Tony contained and…”

Tony closed his eyes and sighed, nudging the headphones further away so he couldn’t hear what they were saying. He had been hoping that Pepper wasn’t a part of whatever was going on, but this had only confirmed his fears. Was there truly no one he could trust? Peter and T’Challa came the closest but he couldn’t remember either of them from before and Ross already had his hooks in Peter – it was only a matter of time before he was forced to choose between Tony and his Aunt and Tony _knew_ that wouldn’t be a competition. To be fair on Peter though, he wouldn’t expect him to let his Aunt down like that anyway. T’Challa seemed to be trustworthy but the man ruled a kingdom, so he most likely had hidden depths. Tony wondered if Happy was involved – just to rub salt in the wound. 

The headphones then fell silent, the conversation was over. Tony finally turned the device off and tried to ignore how his hands continued to shake. He sighed and curled up further. His head was killing him, might as well try to have that nap now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More on the warning mentioned in the beginning notes: Tony discovers that some of the medication he has been prescribed isn't necessarily to aid his recovery. 
> 
> Next chapter: Film night! whoo hooo!!


	17. Film Night Fright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK I don't really know what to say about this chapter... YIKES? I'm afraid it's another weird one and I'm not sure how effective it is as I effectively took the whole Siberia scene from the end of CA:CW and mashed it up. Civil war still makes me angry in a way few films can but I do appreciate the way it all comes together - especially the stuff about the Stark's deaths. I re-watched the scene quite a bit for this chapter and I am still v impressed! The first time round I was too busy being SHOOK (and also it was on a plane flight so it was difficult to hear) but Zemo is actually quite chilling. :0 
> 
> warning for continued reference to (sort of) non-consensual drug usage

The film Pepper had chosen for their film night was awfully dull. Tony would never tell her that though, and besides he appreciated the distraction. He’d spent the last week since his eavesdropping spree frantically attempting to catch up with the paperwork and unfinished projects that had piled up. He’d been so busy he had temporarily ignored the whole thing with Secretary Ross and it seemed to be working fine so far. 

After the meeting there had been a noticeable change was in Rhodes and Pepper’s attentiveness with regards to him taking his ‘medicine’ – although now that he knew that at least some of it was only prescribed to him to keep him out of action it seemed unfair to refer to it as such. It was difficult to get out of taking them (although sometimes he could avoid swallowing a couple with some sleight of hand tricks – he supposed that he could now do magic tricks at kid’s parties if the whole billionaire-inventor thing ever got old!) but forcing himself to take the drugs _knowing_ their true purpose made him feel complicit in Ross’ schemes. If only the reporters that had loved to spin tales of substance abuse in his younger days could see him now! Unsurprisingly some of his prescriptions had been changed at his weekly check-up. A worrying development seeing as it was a Doctor he employed. Once this was over he was going to have to go through _everything_ and see just how much of his company Ross had under his power. 

Another concern was his slowly worsening headaches (at this point they could probably be considered migraines). He really should probably tell someone but no one was exactly recommending themselves right now! Who was he supposed to go to when everyone he was supposed to be able to trust had demonstrated their questionable integrity? 

He had also snuck out once to talk to Peter and get an update on how things were on T’Challa’s end. Peter had been apologetic about the lack of progress – Shuri needed brain scans if she was to make any progress on his brain damage and Tony couldn’t think of a way to get those past Friday without seeming suspicious. As for Friday herself, Past Tony seemed to have done a good job on her firewalls and even Shuri was having some issues. Although she claimed it was nothing she couldn’t handle given a bit more time. Tony just hoped he had more time to give. Judging by the tension in Colonel Rhodes’ shoulders that seemed to be worse every time he saw him, Tony’s days of freedom were fast running out. He was still angry at Rhodes but the man definitely needed a good back massage! 

Pepper nudged his shoulder having sensed he wasn’t paying attention. Tony smirked at her before turning back to the screen. The film had come out when he’d been in his coma and as a result Pepper hadn’t gotten to see it until now. The main character was trying to solve some sort of mystery, but it wasn’t holding Tony’s attention. On a normal day, before the brick, he would have enjoyed picking the story apart and trying to figure it out before the climax but now he found it difficult to focus, the lead spoke just a little too indistinctly and the scene transitions were a bit too fast. He blinked and realised he’d been left behind yet again. Ms main character was now walking down a dark corridor, dramatic music playing in the background. She threw the door at the end open and strode out into… Snow. 

Cold. 

…

Tony squeezed one hand inside the other, eyes shut tight. He hadn’t expected a scene so like… so like…what? 

Siberia? 

He took a deep breath, he was _fine_. No freak outs about things he couldn’t even remember. 

There was another figure standing in the snow too, now. The lead character crunched over to them, saying something about secrets. 

“Was it you?” The main character was demanding. The other character stiffened, an unsettling smile beginning to curl at the corners of their mouth. Well, that’s the villain then, he thought to himself. 

“Did you kill her?!” Tony shuddered as a sudden chill swept over him. 

“Don’t worry it was a quick death” The villain smiled mock-reassuringly at the protagonist. Their voice seemed to warp and change, slowing and gaining an unfamiliar accent. 

_If it’s any comfort, they died in their sleep._

What? That’s not what he said. 

His headache started to pound, and Tony took a gasping breath, why did he feel like this? 

On the screen the protagonist was now fighting it out with the villain. There was blood in the snow. He gasped for air again as he felt a crushing pressure across his chest. The blood was everywhere now, spreading out from where he sat on the sofa. What was happening?? 

_An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That’s dead._

_Forever._

“…Tony!” Pepper’s face was close to his and she was gently shaking his shoulders “What’s wrong?” 

_I know that road._

He clutched her arms, trying to drag in enough air to reply, “Turn it off!” 

Pepper looked confused for a second before her gaze fell on the TV. She swiftly stabbed the off button on the remote before turning her attention back to him. 

“It’s OK now, Tony” Pepper was rubbing his arm in an attempt to soothe him, but it was too late and all he could feel was the drip of blood from wounds that had long closed and the icy brush of invisible snowflakes. Tony was dimly aware he was lying on the floor now and the Colonel was in the room as well for some reason. Tony blinked up at them in confusion briefly before he was dragged back under the blanket of snow once more. 

_This isn’t going to change what happened._

The shield was flashing towards his face. Help. He threw his arms up, too slow. Help. 

_I don’t care._

Breathless pain as his ribs broke. He was wearing some kind of armour? It was horribly warped round the shield. The shield was tugged free. Breathe. No, not like that. Ow. 

_He killed my Mom._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welllllll I leave you with that predicament. I can soon come clean about some of the things I've been trying to imply, yay!!  
> I headcanon Pepper (at least the Pepper in this story - maybe not the actual canon MCU Pepper) to really like mystery stories and tries desperately to get Tony to join her because she doesn't want to watch Happy's period dramas (unless it is a period drama murder mystery...). The film they watch here doesn't exist and I was just trying to make up something kind of Siberia like but not close enough Pepper wouldn't realise immediately.
> 
> I watched Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple the other day (only a whole year after it came out... whoops) and it was a weird experience! I quite enjoy the actual anime series but this was an original film and it got _STRANGE_. What appeared to be the main plot just kind of disintegrated into a mess and I suspect it ultimately made no sense - although I became too confused to tell. However some of the scenes were so good it almost made up for it (SPOLIERS AHEAD) like the part where the villains are all backstabbing each other (some more literally than others, haha) and the stuff about Atsushi killing whatshisface in the past was v cool. I liked the way it was animated - it was very Servamp - but it really didn't fit in with the rest of Atsushi's backstory. Also my sister has read the manga and keeps on dropping ominous hints about Kunikida (the best boy who must be protected!!) so when he was present more than usual and then got shot I was like 'oh no' but luckily he lives yet! To finish my rant I shall only say that I know that Atsushi/Kyouka is supposed to be the ship (which I don't like because Kyouka is like 10? and that's just weird) but the way the end was animated it looked more like Atsushi/Kyouka/Akutagawa which is so far into noT3 land I almost ship it?? I guess this is what a crack ship is!
> 
> Wow I wrote a long note today :0 the wonders of procrastination! Also in the good news, I think I'm out of the writer's block after like 2 months!! Yay! (but also no! because I need to study, darn it!)  
> Next chapter: ???


	18. Under Investigation

T’Challa frowned as he read the report. It was from one of Secretary Ross’ people that owed T’Challa a favour from a couple years ago. A big enough favour to sell out their boss with only a little prompting on his part. His informant had sent him some disturbing news – the brick-throwing incident of last year wasn’t the act of a fanatical Captain America supporter but was a hit ordered by Ross!! It chilled his blood that Ross hadn’t even been aiming for the current situation, he’d been trying to kill Mr Stark! 

While it was good Ross hadn’t succeeded, this news was worrying: if he’s been willing to order Stark’s death once then what was to stop him from trying again? 

T’Challa sat back in his seat and rubbed his temples. He had so much work to do right now! Besides his usual kingly duties he was heavily involved in the redrafting of the Accords and then there was his current side job of making sure Stark wasn’t murdered in his sleep. A somewhat difficult feat seeing as he was halfway round the globe! 

The ping from his phone signalled the arrival of yet another email. He almost swiped the notification away on reflex but noticed it was from his informant. The haze that had been slowing his thoughts dissipated as he stared at the notification. This couldn’t be good; he’d only received their report a couple of hours ago so something must have happened. With a stab of his finger he opened the email. 

> Subject: URGENT! Stark is in danger
> 
> T’Challa, 
> 
> Ross is on the move. He just got together a team to go to Stark tower and he seemed awfully pleased with himself. 
> 
> Good luck, 
> 
> X

T’Challa grabbed his phone and swiftly exited the room, already calling one of his people in New York as he went. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short update this time I'm afraid :S   
> I do plan to address the slight cliff hanger I left things on last chapter but this scene fit in best here. I'm a wee bit uncertain if next chapter is laying the melodrama on a bit thick but we shall see! >:))


	19. Back to Stark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beans are spilled this chapter and some iffy subjects discussed.  
> Warnings for this chapter:   
> -A LOT of medical malpractice is mentioned  
> -Mentions of euthanasia/assisted suicide kind of?? (I think it's more in the 'suggestions of murder' category but mentioning it just in case)  
> -Mentions of terminal illness and neurodegenerative disease  
> -Some real genuine non-consensual drug usage (I mean it this time, even after all these chapters where it's only been mentioned) Although it is still kind of vague...  
> -EXCESSIVE **DRAMA**   
> I must say this list sounds flipping ominous...

Suddenly he was back on the penthouse floor, lying amongst the scattered snacks and a blanket draped over him. Pepper was sitting by his side, looking distraught. Tony was vaguely aware that he was crying, though the reason why currently escaped him. His surroundings still seemed hazy and his concentration was shot but he felt like he should be feeling some kind of emotion rather than the apathy that was smothering his thoughts. 

A flash of movement caught his wandering gaze. There were numerous people he didn’t recognise in the room. Some appeared to be medical personnel, but others couldn’t be anything but military. Colonel Rhodes was having a hushed conversation with an older serious-looking man. Secretary Ross, presumably? Pepper had now noticed his return and was speaking frantically. He managed to turn his head towards her, but she was speaking too fast. His gaze started to slide away and he was stuck looking at the carpet and people’s feet. 

Everyone seemed to be talking for a long time and Tony zoned in and out of proceedings. Pepper wasn’t letting anyone near him – she didn’t trust them? Why was he still lying on the floor? Everything was so confusing right now. 

Suddenly he was jolted from his trance as Pepper’s hand was ripped from his. His eyes snapped into focus to see her being violently dragged away. A small distressed cry left his throat and he weakly reached after her. 

His outstretched arm was forced back against his body and he was lifted up onto a gurney. He tried to wriggle out of their hands but was soon securely strapped down. The medical staff started to rush around him, preparing this and that but Tony paid them no mind. He locked eyes with Ross and glared. 

Ross smiled back at him gleefully and walked over “Now, now. No need for that attitude! I’m here to save you, Stark.” Ross’ grin widened further, and he shot a mirthful look at Rhodes who was stood stiffly a few meters away and was staring at the floor, face disturbingly blank. 

“I find that hard to believe” his voice came out quiet and slurred, but the earlier confusion was fading as fear took over. 

“Oh, Stark. You have no idea, do you? Dear Colonel Rhodes here never told you about Ultron, did he? Or about the device currently malfunctioning inside your brain.” Rhodes flinched, and Ross gave him a slimy smile. 

“What!?” 

“Two years ago you created the Ultron project – an artificial intelligence that _you_ lost control of and many innocent lives were lost in Sokovia. At the time the courts decided you were innocent of any wrongdoing but after the Sokovia Accords were put in place more evidence was – ahem – _discovered_ , and the Accords council decided you were too dangerous.” Ross grinned down him, the guy was obviously loving every second of this. 

“Colonel Rhodes was tasked with your arrest, but he begged we reconsider, saying that you gave him a device after Ultron that could rewrite your memories. For emergencies only of course. Once that fact came to light it was child’s play to arrange an accident that required brain surgery, so the device could be installed-” 

Ross was suddenly interrupted “You!... You never said the accident was arranged!” Rhodes was livid and was probably only one insensitive remark away from hurling himself at Secretary Ross, regardless of the consequences. 

Ross mock sighed, and his smirk widened “Use your brain Colonel! The timing was awfully convenient, after all. Anyway, the point is that the device is malfunctioning so there are two courses of action – put Stark out of his misery permanently right now or let us remove the device and he will live out the rest of his days in the Raft. As Stark’s next of kin, it’s in your hands, Rhodes.” 

“Excuse me! I am right here!” Tony butted in indignantly. 

“Stark, with the way things are currently inside your skull nothing you say is legally binding.” Ross’ smile turned sickly sweet and Tony seethed at him. Offering to murder someone wasn’t exactly on the right side of the law either! 

“Of course, there is a third option: we leave the device in his brain and watch Stark slowly fade away over the next couple of months. Not very humane but it would solve the problem.” Ross was looking sickeningly smug at this point – Tony was irretrievably stuck in his trap and he was forcing Rhodes to make an awful choice. The man was definitely a sadist. 

As this conversation progressed Tony felt like he was drowning under the revelations Ross kept on throwing out. He supposed it was only right that his past self had enabled this whole mess to occur in the first place but it still felt like he had betrayed himself in a way. Why would he make something like that that was so obviously only going to cause pain? Tony understood his desire to create this ‘Ultron’ – he had a long history of programming AIs and he viewed them fondly – but this amnesia causing device was despicable! The applications of such an invention in the hands of governments and on the black market didn’t bear thinking about and even if used responsibly and with consent (the ethics of this didn’t bear thinking about!) it still had the potential to cause ridiculous amounts of distress and, as he was demonstrating now, the side effects of it malfunctioning were rather _unpleasant_. 

“Well come on, Colonel. We don’t have all night!” 

“I stand by my previous opinion that Tony doesn’t deserve _any_ of this!” 

“Oh, so you think we should put him down then? I’m somewhat surprised but I understand Colonel, the raft is not a kind place after all.” The look of pure fear on Rhodes’ face just then wiped out any final doubts of him being a plant. Rhodes may have betrayed him but it had obviously not been from choice and despite how dire the current situation was it reassured Tony somewhat. 

Ross motioned to one of the security personnel. The man marched up to Rhodes and pressed their gun into his hand. Rhodes looked like he wanted to attack Ross and was trembling in anger, or was it fear? Tony couldn’t tell. Tony watched as his hands tightened and loosened around the weapon. Rhodes finally looked at him but immediately averted his gaze once more, guilt heavy in his eyes. Tony remembered that phone call he’d overheard between the Colonel and Pepper. Rhodes knew _exactly_ what would await Tony if he was sent to prison and it was bad enough to give him cause to hesitate. 

Cause to consider murder. 

“What do you want, Tony?” Rhodes asked softly, still staring at the floor and his grip on the gun painfully tight. 

What did Tony want? He was faced with three undesirable options and no way out. One thing was for sure – he’d rather be murdered by his best friend than slowly die a painful, preventable death. The effect it would have on those he cared about would be awful – he’d seen the aftermath of his coma and that had been bad enough. However, if he asked Rhodes to shoot him he would be subjecting the man to a living hell. The raft would definitely have the least impact on his family’s wellbeing and gave Tony himself a chance of a way out that a bullet between the eyes or neurodegeneration did not. 

“The raft” he ground out eventually with a bitter smile. Rhodes sagged with relief, gun dropping to the floor. 

“You heard him” Rhodes told Ross shakily. Ross only smiled. 

After that things became confusing again – someone injected something in Tony’s arm and the room seemed to be draining away to darkness. There were jolts of movement as the gurney was rolled and a voice protesting in the background “Let me go! I need to be with him! Tony!!” 

He wondered what the voice was talking about. 

What voice? 

Who…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBH I'm not sure if this scene is a little too much but given the characters involved I would say it's fine?  
> I would say I'm sorry for what I did but I don't completely mean it so I won't!! >:D   
> But yea I have finally revealed the circumstances behind Tony's amnesia!!! It was getting increasingly difficult to resist making spoilery remarks so that's a relief! (although we have a lot of plot still to get through so don't relax yet) 
> 
> Next chapter: Peter is going to be around again, yay!


	20. Silenced Code

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I'm knackered! Term is about to start again so updates are probably going to get a bit spaced out :/
> 
> I'm really excited for endgame though!!! :D

Peter was out on patrol, scouring the streets for crime. It was beginning to get late but it wasn’t a school night so he wasn’t fazed. He landed on a roof to take a short break, rummaging in one of his newly installed pockets for an energy bar. 

“Emergency Protocol 3 activated” Karen suddenly said. Peter yelped and jumped six feet in the air in surprise, his snack only remaining in his hand because he’d stuck to it. 

“What’s that Karen, is everything OK?” he asked anxiously while peeling the bar off his fingers. 

“This protocol is activated when a Stark industries artificial intelligence realises it has been corrupted or hacked. In case the fault is found in other AIs, all programs will shut down indefinitely until further notice. Shutdown will occur 30 seconds from now” 

“What? No, Karen don’t leave me! You’re fine there’s nothing wrong with you!!” 

“I’m sorry, Peter. You are correct that there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with me, but it was F.R.I.D.A.Y. that triggered the protocol. Non-compliance with emergency protocols would lead to my termination to prevent a repeat of a being such as Ultron.” 

“Karen…” Peter stated to cry. 

“Goodbye Peter-” Karen’s voice cut out and she didn’t say anything else no matter how Peter begged. She was gone. 

He sat on the roof for a long time, shocked by the sudden loss of his companion. Eventually he got his phone out and called Mr Stark. He went straight to voicemail three times before he realised no one was going to be picking up. He then called Happy and went to voicemail again. 

Peter was started to panic a little by this point and fired off a quick text to Aunt May, telling her that something was up with Mr Stark before he started to swing as fast as he could across the city, towards Stark tower. 

He suddenly remembered there was one more person he needed to contact – King T’Challa. Peter dropped neatly onto a roof and pulled out his phone. T’Challa picked up after only a couple of rings. 

“This better be good, Peter. I was in a meeting” 

“Something’s gone wrong. I can’t contact anyone at the tower!” 

Peter could hear murmuring on the other end of the line but couldn’t make anything out. 

“Could you tell me exactly what happened, Peter? This could be important.” 

Peter grimaced, how could he explain what had happened to Karen without giving his identity away? Although if it came down to it he didn’t care if T’Challa knew if it helped Mr Stark. “Mr Stark gave me an AI a while back and she just shut down because of some emergency protocol that F.R.I.D.A.Y. triggered because she’s been hacked or something.” 

There was a short pause before T’Challa admitted “That is worrying.” 

“I’m on my way to Stark tower right now. I’ll phone you back when I know more.” 

“That would be appreciated. I’ve lost contact with the other people I had on this in New York.” T’Challa said solemnly and the call ended. 

Peter was terrified - what was he supposed to do if trained spies had failed? Although admittedly most spies weren’t able to walk on ceilings or have super healing so maybe he would be fine? 

He continued making his way across the city despite his nerves – cursing the delay calling T’Challa had caused. If Karen had still been running he would have been able to take the call through his mask but now he had to use his actual phone – making swinging around on webs at the same time a bit too risky. 

He finally arrived at the tower and climbed up to a few floors below the penthouse to the small window that Mr Stark always left unlocked for him. He squeezed through into the storage room, listening for company as he entered. 

“Are you there Friday?” he whispered. There was no response from F.R.I.D.A.Y. – or anyone else. 

He appeared to be alone and breathed a sigh of relief. He then crawled onto the ceiling and stealthily made his way up the stairs. 

So far nothing seemed amiss. His spidey senses were unnaturally silent which made him more tense than any warning could have. He finally arrived at the penthouse and immediately noticed the mess – there was popcorn and crisps all over the floor and sofa in front of the TV. Colonel Rhodes was sat slumped on the floor, amongst the mess and his head in his hands. His trousers were torn at the knee where the mangled joint of his braces was visible but Peter couldn’t smell blood so he was probably alright? He jumped down from the ceiling and approached him warily. “Um, Colonel? Are you OK? …Where is Mr Stark?” 

Rhodes blinked at him. “Spiderman?...” his face fell “You’re too late. I already let them take him. We’ll probably never see him again!” Peter got the impression Rhodes was almost glad he was late – and frustrating as it was Peter could kind of agree. He doubted he would have been much use against Ross’ dirty tactics and would have probably been joining Mr Stark wherever he’d been taken. 

“Taken where?!” Peter felt dread begin to pool inside him. 

“Ross carted him off to the Raft.” There was obviously far more to the story than that given the utterly crushed look Rhodes had but Peter reckoned now was not the time to pry and that he’d heard enough to report to T’Challa. 

This time the king picked up almost immediately and Peter quickly told him what he knew before handing the phone over to Rhodes so they could go into details. Peter could hear a quiet shuffling noise coming from behind one of the doors. He crept over and pressed his ear to the door. He still couldn’t figure out what the noise could be but it didn’t sound threatening and his senses were quiet, so he eased the door open. 

_Ms Potts_ was handcuffed to the leg of the bed, a gag that looked an awful lot like a sock shoved in her mouth. She appeared to be _very_ angry so Peter approached her cautiously and pulled the sock away, so she could speak again. She thanked him politely and then proceeded to unleash a torrent of swear words and curses. Peter snapped the chain joining the handcuffs and then retreated to a safe distance, on the ceiling. Ms Potts might not mean _him_ any harm but she was still terrifying when she was angry. 

Ms Potts marched over to Rhodes, who was beginning to look somewhat shellshocked, and plucked the phone from his hand and put it on speaker before properly examining the state of Rhodes’ leg. She swiftly turned the conversation with T’Challa to what exactly they should do now to fix this mess. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: we see the world from Happy's POV


	21. Where it all Began: the Brick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a while. I saw Endgame at the weekend and it was GREAT but also _yikes_! I shan't go into spoilers though (as tempting as it is) as I remember getting spoilered back when infinity war came out and that wasn't particularly fun.  
> This chapter may hurt so the timing is a little unfortunate. THERE IS NO FLUFF HERE TO COMBAT THE PAIN FROM ENDGAME!
> 
> Also WARNINGS: this chapter contains a pretty graphic description of a head injury and there's blood and mentions of throwing up (no one actually does though).

<<16th December 2016>>

“…these changes are absolutely vital for the improved functioning of the Sokovia Accords. Thank you for listening, I will now answer any questions.” Happy watched from the edge of the stage as Tony finished his speech. Ironman’s popularity may have taken a hit after the mess back in June (along with the popularity of every other Avenger) but he certainly still had their respect as Tony Stark the Innovator, the man that could change any situation for the better, no matter the odds! Today the charisma was turned up to eleven and the media were loving it. Happy didn’t know the specifics of what he was proposing but it must have been important: when he had driven him to the press conference Tony had been on edge and looking over notes. Actual, on PAPER notes! 

Today Happy was Tony’s ‘bodyguard’ (the role was more ceremonial than anything – how was Happy supposed to deal with anything _Ironman_ couldn’t??) for a press conference about the changes the Sokovia Accords were going to undergo to even begin to function how they had originally been envisioned. Since the civil war Tony had been working non-stop to improve the Accords and set right the mistakes the Avengers had made. Happy personally thought this wasn’t Tony’s burden to bear alone but knew his employer well enough not to tell him that. Once Tony decided on a goal very little could deter him. 

The questions session was lengthy and went on almost as long as the speech before had. It was tiresome but things were progressing well it seemed. They really needed public support for what they were trying to do with the Accords council. The council was unfortunately proving resistant to some of the more vital alterations – even when Tony pointed out that some parts were direct violations of various human rights. Happy remembered well just how furious Tony had been after that meeting when one of the council members had told him that there were no human rights violations because those the Accords applied to generally weren’t human. Tony had informed the men in a dispassionate, cold tone that discrimination was “not cool” and also that several members of the avengers were undeniably 100% human (of which Tony was one) yet the accords still applied to them. He’d then left the meeting, Happy trailing after him with an armful of papers. None of the council had realised just how close they’d been to seeing the full extent of Tony’s anger but Happy hadn’t missed the way he’d been fiddling with his watch/gauntlet. 

Anyway, the questions session was finally over (thank goodness) and now all Happy had to do was get Tony back to the car. This was probably the worst part of these events but it meant it was almost over so he didn’t mind so much. The crowd of overly aggressive journalists and related pests was even thicker than usual – there were even some rabid pro-Captain America protesters making a racket off to the side. Luckily there were too far away to provide much of a threat so Happy focused on clearing a path. 

It was then that everything took a turn for the worse. Tony may have been Ironman but at this time the only suit he was wearing was not of the armoured variety. He didn’t stand a chance. 

A blur of movement caught Happy’s eye and he whirled round just in time to see some kind of projectile hit his employer in the back of the head. There was a horrible crunching noise and Tony swayed for a second and then tumbled over. Happy managed to catch him before he hit his head again and laid him on the ground, already bellowing for everyone to get back. He barked at a bystander holding a phone to call for an ambulance before turning his attention to his boss. Tony’s eyes were open and terrified. He tried to speak but no words would form. He looked even more scared now and Happy shushed him and tried to reassure him. There was an alarming amount of blood pouring from his head but Happy didn’t dare to look at the injury: he could tell it was bad without looking and throwing up would not help the situation. Instead he cradled Tony’s head and pressed a reporter’s scarf he’d commandeered to the back of his head. He tried to ignore the way the back of Tony’s head gave a little when he pressed too hard. _Don’t throw up. It’s fine. It’s fine…_

The sound of ambulances could already be heard distantly. The next few minutes passed quickly and were spent trying to keep an increasingly agitated Tony calm as he bled everywhere. He gripped Happy’s suit tightly with trembling hands and tried to speak no matter how often he was told to save his energy. It was almost a relief when he eventually passed out although then Happy had to keep a hand on his wrist to make sure Tony’s heart was still beating. When the ambulance finally arrived Happy could have cried and he gladly stepped back to allow them to get to work, almost tripping over a bloodstained brick in the process. He almost lost the battle to keep his stomach contents again when he figured out it’s significance but instead he steeled himself again and climbed into the ambulance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: we return to the present and to the mess that is Tony Stark's life.


	22. All downhill from here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suspect the irregular updates are going to be a thing for the next month as my finals approach. The chapters may be pre-written but they still require editing after all!!
> 
> Also Ross seems to have forgotten he is supposed to be a Government Official and has gone off the deep end into villain monologuing - all that's missing is the lengthy explanation of his motives!

This time when Tony awoke he felt better than he had in months. The unnoticed veil over his mind had been ripped away and he could finally think clearly. He could also remember far more than before and he felt a brief thrill of anger at the lies he’d been fed by those he trusted. 

He tried open his eyes and flinched violently as the bright lights stabbed into his skull. He reflexively attempted to bring a hand up to shield his face but was alarmed to find that his arms didn’t move and that he couldn’t even feel his hands! 

Tony pulled on his arms a few times in a slowly building panic until his eyes slowly adjusted to the blinding light. He could now see that he was in a small, square room with plain white walls. He was lying on a padded bench set into the back of the room. The reason his arms wouldn’t move appeared to be the cuff round each wrist that was currently keeping him anchored to the bench. 

The wall furthest from him was glass (and probably also functioned as the door). Standing on the other side of the glass was Tony’s favourite person right now, Secretary Ross. 

“Did you sleep well, Stark?” Ross leered at him through the glass. 

“Are you trying to be creepy, Ross. Or does it just come naturally?” Tony quipped back. 

Ross raised an eyebrow “hmm, I see some things never change no matter how much someone rummages around your brain.” Tony immediately stiffened. What had they done? 

“Don’t worry, we only removed the device and tried to repair the damage it caused. Oh and you may have been gifted you a tracker or two, but not inside your skull!” He waved up at the camera and there was a loud clunk as the cuffs detached from the bench. Tony immediately sat up and prodded at his bandaged head with strangely weak hands. Once again his hair had been shaved off, which was just insulting! He then examined the metal enclosing his wrists. His hands and lower arms were numb and uncoordinated and his grip was weak. The cuffs probably injected some local acting drug into his wrists or maybe even interfered directly in nerve transmission in some way. He looked back up as Ross, trying to mask his distress. 

“What have you done to my hands?” he demanded with only the slightest waver to his voice. 

“Ah, I’m truly sorry about that” Ross could not have sounded less apologetic “It was truly necessary, you see Stark, you have quite the reputation with regards to remaining in captivity. However, I doubt even you can magic up an escape route without use of your hands. Those lovely bracelets we’ve gifted you can inject a selection of drugs which make fine motor control… interesting. The one that you are currently experiencing is a paralytic, quite mild compared to some of the others I’m sure you will become acquainted with in time.” 

Ross smiled smugly and Tony narrowed his eyes at him “How long are you intending on keeping me here anyway? I assume this is the raft?” 

“Oh, Stark. If I get my way – and there’s no reason to see why I won’t – you will never be seeing outside of the raft again.” He chuckled gleefully (seemingly forgetting that he was supposed to act like a government official rather than a comic book villain) “As far as the law is concerned the Accords allows this – despite your attempts to have indefinite imprisonment without trial removed – so your friends can’t do anything. Even if they manage to wrangle some form of trial, the council has already decided in light of the additional evidence I provided to them that you are too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. Of course, they could attempt to break you out but this is the raft! It’s the highest security prison in the world and they would become criminals in doing so. I would advise you get comfortable Stark, you aren’t going anywhere anytime soon!” 

“That never stopped Rogers getting the other Rogues out” Tony replied dryly. 

This appeared to have been the wrong thing to say as Ross’ stance immediately tensed and he prowled closer to the glass aggressively “Yes, but you helped him. Don’t think we’ve all forgotten that you had a hand in designing this place. Unfortunately for you all your backdoors have been removed and the security protocols have been thoroughly overhauled.” Tony was about to protest his involvement in the escape but Ross continued on relentlessly. 

“Also, it seems your AI reacted badly when it realised it had been hacked. Does Emergency protocol 3 ring a bell?” 

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Yes” 

So Friday hadn’t been trustworthy, but she hadn’t even known until it was too late. His baby had shut herself down to prevent further misuse. It was equivalent to committing suicide with Tony absent – he was the only one with the necessary knowledge to remove the damage and restart her – and while that knowledge had returned to him now that there aren’t lumps of metal rattling around inside his head Friday had no way of knowing the damage wasn’t permanent. Poor Fri. He had just gotten used to her being around instead of Jarvis too. Tony swore angrily to himself then that he would do anything he could to take Ross down. Even if he couldn’t escape himself then he would get revenge for his creation! 

A phone chime sounded and Ross glanced at his phone he flashed a fake apologetic smile at Tony “Anyway I’d best be going, duty calls.” 

“Ha! Duty? Don’t make me laugh” Tony bit out, cradling his useless hands to his chest. “You may have the Accords council wrapped round your finger for now but that’ll change soon enou-guh!” Tony fell back against the bench as the electric shock tore through him. His hands scrabbling feebly at the previously unnoticed collar round his neck that was electrocuting him. 

“Well, Stark. Here’s an example of what happens when my patience runs out. I would advise that your stay here on the raft will be far more comfortable if you learn to shut up but we both know how bad you are at that. Now I really must be going. Goodnight.” Ross swept out, snapping his fingers when he reached the door which caused the electricity to immediately stop flowing through him. 

He lay still for a long time, except from the occasional twitch or spasm. Tony didn’t sleep well that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: we check in with Steve again


	23. He wouldn’t want your help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals are over at last!! YAY. >:D   
> I'm very much enjoying having a life again and while this chapter isn't much it's something
> 
> Recap for those that have forgotten: Ross has imprisoned Tony in the raft after a dramatic showdown at Stark tower.

Steve wearily picked up his ringing mobile phone and put it to his ear. 

“Yes?” 

“Steve, there’s a situation with Stark” He startled slightly at the unexpected voice of Natasha Romanoff on the other end. He hadn’t heard from her since the fight at the airport in Germany. 

“When isn’t there?” he kneaded his temples, trying to prevent a steadily rising headache. What had Tony done this time? It wasn’t too long ago that he’d been in a coma, there hadn’t exactly been much time for him to get into trouble. 

“Three days ago, Ross took Stark from the tower. His current location isn’t certain but it’s almost definitely the raft.” 

“What?! Why? Tony hasn’t done anything to deserve that, well not recently!” 

“My source didn’t know but it sounded like Ross convinced the Accords council that he was dealing with a future threat. He has the fools wrapped around his finger!” Nat sounded frustrated at having to admit her intelligence was incomplete. 

Steve cursed. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting. He felt a little guilty at how quick he’d been to assume Tony was in the wrong. 

“Anyway, I just thought you should know. What do you plan to do about it?” Nat’s voice was curious but detached. Steve noticed her word choice and internally sighed, he had always suspected there would come a time where Natasha would part ways with the Avengers and it seemed it had come. Steve wondered what sort of life she’d built that was worth pulling out of the superhero business. 

“I’m not sure. We could try to break Stark out but the Raft’s security has probably improved since last time and we already needed his assistance then. Also, I don’t think he’d appreciate us rescuing him. I can’t imagine he ever wants to see me again. The best course of action is probably to remove Ross from the equation. He’s ultimately the source of most our problems.” 

Nat hummed thoughtfully “I must admit I’m not a fan of Ross. I don’t want to be part of the Avengers anymore Steve, but if I hear anything that could be useful I’ll pass it on.” 

“Thanks, Nat. I hope whatever you’re doing now goes well.” 

Natasha laughs and she sounds genuinely happy for the first time. “Thanks Cap, good luck to you too.” She hangs up. 

Steve stares at his phone and sighs. He should phone the rest of the gang. They had split up after leaving the Raft – it was too risky travelling in such a distinctive group. Steve suspects that if they’d stuck together they would probably already be keeping Tony company in prison, there had been some _very_ close shaves. They’d tried to keep in regular contact and as far as he knows everyone is still free. Sam was right under Ross’ nose back in the US. Wanda had eloped with Vision somewhere in Europe, his bet was on the UK somewhere. Clint had gone silent a while ago but he was confident he was still wreaking havoc somewhere. He wasn’t dealing with the divorce with his wife very well so Steve had been giving him as much space as possible. Steve wasn’t sure what the bug guy was doing but he’d probably been caught by now. That guy (what was his name again?) had been horribly incompetent and just hadn’t been suited for a life on the run. Bucky was still frozen in Wakanda so he was also unavailable. 

Steve sighed yet again, if only the accords had never happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. I am aware that my characterisation of Black widow is very pre-endgame! Endgame showed us that she is the _least_ likely to walk away from the avengers and my opinion of her is now much more complicated and sympathetic. When I wrote this all I thought of her was "blegh mean self-serving assassin" and while some of that still holds for her actions in IM2 and CA:CW I was almost proud of her character development in endgame (still not a fan though).
> 
> Next chapter: Tony does some thinking


	24. Boredom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from taking a wee holiday and I'm about to start my internship! Yesterday I realised that far from home is coming out really soon so that's exciting. Not sure when to see it yet though :S   
> A fairly long chapter this time (for me anyway) so that's good.

Who knew captivity could be so mind numbingly boring? With the ten rings, Tony hadn’t been bored at all – he’d been terrified and angry and in awful amounts of pain but never bored. 

This time he was furious and somewhat in pain but there wasn’t much to be scared about. In Afghanistan failure meant death, or at the very least it would hurt. In the raft there was nothing to fail – he might get punished for acting out against one of the guards but that wasn’t the same. 

Now that his mind was back in working order it required tasks. He _needed_ something to do. The fact that his hands were immobilised just made things worse – he couldn’t use the paper and pencil the guards mockingly provided him with, he couldn’t even feed himself properly! Tony hated feeling so helpless. 

Now he was trying to figure out if his feet were capable of the dexterity to wield a pencil. He vaguely remembered an anecdote about someone who broke both their arms in a car accident learning to write with their feet and then retaining the ability as a handy party trick, but it was proving more difficult than anticipated. His hands were worse than deadweight right now – at lunch he had insulted one of the guards and they’d administered one of the toxins he hadn’t experienced yet. He hoped that they wouldn’t make a habit of using this one – his arms felt like they were on fire from shoulder blade to finger tip and wouldn’t move no matter how hard he tried to scratch his itchy nose. 

This wasn’t the first time he’d been punished in such a way: a few days ago he’d entertained himself by singing – which the guards didn’t seem to appreciate and his hands had been twitching uncontrollably for the next day. Yesterday he’d been attempting to keep in shape by doing press-ups and had been rudely interrupted by a gaggle of idiots who were curious how much neurotoxin running through his veins would make him stop. 

It was all infuriating and his feelings of helplessness only made it worse. He’d never been a particularly patient or tolerant person but now his temper was even shorter. Just last week he broke a guard’s nose for some petty insult that before this whole mess wouldn’t have made him blink. How old was he, twelve? 

Tony took a deep breath and went back to his drawing. He was attempting to sketch Rhodey but the unsteady lines looked more like a toddler’s scribble of a cloud. Tony was still somewhat incredulous that he forgot his best friend. The man had been there for him his entire adult life and all it took was one of his dodgier inventions and all memory of his best friend was wiped out. He really had been wandering around with most of his memories missing! Some memories were probably still missing and would probably be gone forever but as far as he could tell there were no longer any massive sections of his life missing. 

It was pretty funny though, that he’d initially thought they might be dating. Tony silently thanked Pepper from averting what could have been a _very_ awkward disaster. He supposed his days of messing up socially were over now. Pepper would never have to rescue him from another embarrassing situation or explain to him where he’d messed up when she arrived too late. He clenched his eyes shut as a wave of despair rolled over him. For all he knew about his future he’d never see Pepper again – or Rhodey or Pete or Happy. He wished he’d gotten to say goodbye properly but he could smother the longing for now by focusing on how glad he was that it was only him here. Hopefully his absence wouldn’t impact anyone too much (haha, who was he kidding!? He had seen the aftermath of his disappearance in Afghanistan so to even think they would just carry on with their lives now was pure madness!). 

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a guard carrying in a chair which was placed in front of the cell. A couple minutes later a nondescript young-ish man in the most generic looking suit he’d ever seen walking in, thick folder under one arm. Tony tensed up, the newcomer might have the appearance of any old pen-pusher but instincts gained from years of dealing with Shield informed him that this man was the same variety of bureaucrat as Coulson had been. Well maybe he was being a bit generous in his assessment there, Coulson would have _never_ looked so on edge! 

“Mr Stark” the man greeted him with the barest hint of a cloyingly insincere smile. Cripes, Tony hated him already. 

“What brings you here, Agent?” his tone was brusque, bordering on rude, and if Pepper had been here she would have given him that disapproving stare that always made his toes curl. Unfortunately for the Agent she was not present so he received the full force of Tony’s bored disapproval. The man flinched slightly then caught himself and carefully sat on the chair, averting his eyes with a quiet cough to look at his paperwork. 

“I have some questions here for you from Secretary Ross. If you answer some of them we may consider any requests you have. We cannot set you free but we _can_ make your stay more comfortable.” 

Tony regarded the man with narrowed eyes before shooting him a wolfish smile. He might as well see what Ross wanted to know. Who knows, it could be amusing! “Well feel free to ask but I probably won’t answer. I enjoy my privacy.” 

The man spluttered a little at that but wisely didn’t comment. He took out a sheet of paper from his folder and slid it through the food slot of his cell. The Agent had obviously been given extensive warnings before visiting judging by the terrified look on his face as he opened the slot. What was he expecting? Tony knew he was far more resourceful than the majority of the population but he was still human and was currently pretty stuck, regardless of whether the slot was open or not. The worst he could do right now was bite the man’s hand and it was debatable if he’d manage it before being stunned. He supposed it was nice that his reputation had become so formidable. 

Tony clumsily slid the paper across the floor with his feet and resumed his previous position, sitting on the floor in the middle of the cell. There were around twenty questions in all, written in awful Comic Sans font and numbered. Tony knew that Comic Sans did have its perks, being a dyslexia friendly font and all that but he was not dyslexic so this seemed like an unnecessary ordeal to subject his poor eyes to. He considered loudly refusing to read such a monstrosity but he hadn’t quite reached that level of pettiness. Give him another couple of weeks. He then actually read the questions and promptly decided he was not answering any of that! They ranged in topic but many related to Pe- _Spiderman_ and others involved Stark industries and Friday. They even had the gall to ask him to design weapons for them! As if!! He refused to sell out himself or his loved ones in return for a more comfortable cell! 

“Mr Stark, are you going to answer any of the questions?” the agent asked after he’d remained silent for several minutes. 

He fumbled for a few seconds before he managed to manoeuvre the paper between his feet and his teeth and grip it tightly. He then ripped the sheet in half, grinning viciously as he spat the paper out. 

“Tell Ross his questions can take a hike. And him along with them!” 

Tony looked up, straight into his eyes and the man flinched. They don’t make Agents like they used to he thought to himself as the still unnamed man fled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: A VERY short interlude. Like _really_ short but I think it's necessary to understand what happens later on.


	25. To make an omelette…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So super short update today! While my creativity is returning after finals I seem to have very little time to actually write :((  
> I saw Spider-man: far from home at the weekend (no spoilers here, only vague comments) and it was AMAZING! The acting was great and I liked what they did with Mysterio very much. Also Zendaya continues to be THE QUEEN OF WEIRD. She's so great :))) Those of you that have seen the film will know exactly the part I mean when I say that ONE scene made me jump so hard, it was pretty horrifying but really well done! Aaaaah

The informant peered round a corner of the hallway. This had started off as some casual passing on of information to a creditor but now they were properly risking everything: getting caught sneaking round places far above their clearance level would not have a happy outcome. 

Ross was currently supervising the transfer of one of the prisoners off the raft. Who knew where to. The …creature was obviously not enjoying the move and was beating at the walls of the reinforced cage. The informant could only catch glimpses of whatever was in the cage – occasionally a spike would poke out between the bars, causing the guards transporting the cage to duck away. One of the guards was unlucky and was speared right through the side by a spike. Ross started yelling orders at the remaining guards as the wounded man was towed away to the medical bay. 

What is Ross planning to do with _that_? He must have something planned seeing as the creature had already been safely confined in the most secure prison in the world and it wasn’t like there was anywhere that would be better suited. As they wondered, the procession slowly moved out of sight. Whatever was going on here, it was likely very illegal and King T’Challa would be highly interested in hearing about it! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: T'Challa has opinions


	26. Meanwhale

T’Challa steped down from the Wakandan ‘plane’ landed on the top of Stark Tower and surveyed the impressive views. Skyscrapers pierced the sky for as far as he could see in every direction, an alien sight for someone who had spent the majority of their life in a technologically advanced but still fairly rural society. The heaviness of pollution in the air and the very slight haziness of the horizon was a constant reminder of how fortunate he was. He’d been fully intending on arriving weeks ago but some interclan issues had demanded his attention: not everyone viewed the reintegration of the Jabari into Wakandan society in the same light as he did, and they’d proven to be as stubborn as their views were backward. It had almost been a disaster on the same scale as the whole Killmonger debacle! T’Challa had yet to be on the throne for a year and he had already faced a ridiculous number of crises. He may have become experienced at dealing with these situations but it had still taken a month to get the anti-Jabari faction to calm down and think about things sensibly. He’d had very little time to deal with the Stark problem and Shuri had been tied up in preventing a meningitis epidemic. Wakanda has been isolated from the world so long and while some of the diseases from the rest of the world would find a way in many had not until the country had opened it’s borders last year. Now all sorts of infections were popping up and the Wakandan’s immune systems were ill suited to deal with the influx of new pathogens. Shuri had been put in charge of the vaccination efforts and once that was off the ground she had been trying to figure out how to best treat those who hadn’t been vaccinated in time. The outbreak was now mostly contained and in a way it had been helpful for making the anti-Jabari faction back down. They may have disagreed with his political views but everyone was on the same page about preventing the spread of disease. 

The weather seemed to match his mood: overcast and heavy, although there was no rain yet. The wind was strong this high up and caught at his clothing roughly. Ms Potts had stepped out onto the roof to meet him and he greeted her neutrally. He was unsure as of yet just how much of a role she and the Colonel had played in Stark’s downfall and until that had been elucidated he would maintain some distance. 

Potts’ reply was just as restrained as his although he suspected it was only her experience as CEO of SI that was allowing her to remain calm. He sensed Shuri had followed him down out of the aircraft and turned to help her with the equipment she’d brought. Even his sister seemed to be affected by the solemn air and was a little less chipper when she spoke. 

“Ms Potts, where can I have access to Friday? I may have more luck rebooting her if I’m directly connected to the SI network.” 

“This way, please.” She gestured for them to follow her towards the door on the other side of the roof. As they went indoors the first drops of rain began to fall. 

The journey in the lift down to Stark’s workshop was spent in silence, which T’Challa was grateful for – what are people supposed to talk about in these situations? He allowed himself a small smile as Shuri shifted restlessly. His sister had been looking at Stark’s security protocols every available moment since Stark’s arrest, which admittedly didn’t amount to much. She’d announced on the flight over that she thought she’d found one of the inventor’s backdoors into the system but had decided to wait until they arrived to pursue this further. The only reason it had taken her so long was that her knowledge of coding had been mainly restricted to Wakandan methods and Stark used a language of his own design so there were no relevant wikis or ask sites on the internet. 

The elevator doors slid apart and they entered the workshop. Everything looked much the same as first time he’d visited all those weeks ago (although one cluttered desk overflowing with potentially dangerous partially-assembled items looked much like another to his eyes). Shuri was gazing hungrily at the mountains of inventions and T’Challa subtly shoved an elbow in her side before overtaking her to greet the others already present. He recognised Colonel Rhodes from the whole civil war affair but the teenager fidgeting next to him was unfamiliar. Before he had time to put the pieces together the Colonel was shaking his hand and introducing the stranger as Peter Parker, Stark Industries Intern and the individual to have been bestowed the honour of being the only person Stark had trusted for the duration of this mess. 

Parker was significantly younger than T’Challa had expected – he had been dimly aware from his voice that he couldn’t be older than early twenties but he hadn’t been expecting a fifteen year old! The kid was younger than his sister! He felt slightly queasy at the prospect of putting brilliant, impulsive Shuri in the situation Peter had been in: having the hopes of his hero resting solely upon him while having the safety of his family threatened and then to fail despite his best efforts. There was a tenseness to the teen’s stance that suggested he was one unexpected loud noise from bolting. 

“A pleasure to finally meet you” T’Challa shook Parker’s hand and tried to look reassuring “and this is my sister, Shuri.” He waved a hand in his sister’s direction. Shuri shot Peter a wide, toothy grin and waved from where she was setting up her equipment. Peter made a series of awed, incoherent burbling noises before Rhodes stepped in. 

“Anyway, I’m glad you could make it, your Highness. Maybe we can finally make some progress now.” Rhodes’ words were blunt but not meant in a passive-aggressive way. T’Challa nodded solemnly 

“I hope so too, Colonel. My sister is one of the top scientists in Wakanda, if she can’t help us then I doubt much will.” T’Challa could feel his sister’s eyes on the back of his head and forced his mouth out of the smile that was trying to form, he’d pay for that ‘one of’ comment later but it was just so easy to annoy Shuri and her at times slightly inflated ego (she probably was the smartest person alive when it came to her field but it wouldn’t do to admit it to her!). A quiet pinging noise and Parker scrambling for his phone disturbed his thoughts. His face scrunched in distaste when he saw the notification before looking at Rhodes questioningly. 

“You need to go, Peter?” 

“Yea, I’ll be back once this is dealt with!” Parker was already walking towards the workshop exit. 

“OK, see you later!” 

T’Challa wondered idly what task had Peter looking so serious before focusing on the situation again, there were important matters to discuss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: we find out where Peter went


	27. …You have to break some eggs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK this chapter was 300 words yesterday when I was first going to post it and now it is over 1800! Also I actually wrote a proper action scene (kind of?) I now understand why people complain about writing them so much! It is VERY DIFFICULT and I'm lucky that I'd already written a tonne of what comes later so I had a clear outline of what needed to happen.
> 
> Warning for some violence and some description of injuries although this story is definitely going to get more gory later (and has been more gory in previous chapter I suppose). Also I went on a wee biology rant in the middle somewhere but it's still there because I feel it's in character for Peter.

Peter got back to Queens just as things were starting to get properly nasty. According to the news some sort of weird alien thing had appeared from who knew where _again_. Which would have been fine to be honest if it hadn’t also decided that people were tasty and also if it wasn’t over twenty feet tall and covered in spikes. It was a murky grey colour shot through with the beguiling iridescence of oil that Peter associated with the polluted puddles in some of the more industrial areas of the city. He had once had the misfortune of falling in when he had gotten into a fight earlier this year and the experience had been wholly unpleasant and one he would like to not repeat. The creature was definitely not native to Earth: it had eight long limbs that _each_ contained at least TWELVE joints and could bend in any direction but were still covered in corded muscles that would make Thor weep. Mutations could explain some of the weird creatures that popped up increasingly these days but the limbs confirmed that this was not anything that had emerged from Earth’s evolutionary tree. The part of Peter that drooled over Mr Stark’s workshop was currently excitedly screaming various burning questions – where was it from? What role did it fulfil in the ecosystem there? Just how similar was it on a molecular level to terrestrial multicellular organisms. Could he even assume it was multicellular? Conventional developmental biology would assume it couldn’t be a syncytium but this creature was from a different planet so any assumptions were dangerous... 

Speaking of dangerous... the creature roared then and Peter got an all too good view of the multiple rows of jagged teeth lining the alien’s mouth and throat, already stained in places with shockingly bright scarlet blood and he was reminded off the danger it faced to the civilians on the street below. Luckily in the time it had taken him to get there the monster hadn’t managed to kill anyone (as far as he could tell), but many people had been seriously injured and one person he saw being helped into an ambulance was missing an arm. Peter wanted to throw up, he’d seen some pretty hairy situations in his time as Spiderman but never with as much carnage as this. 

The rain was falling heavily now and made visibility poor – a grey beast against grey buildings in grey weather, oh joy! It also made his spider senses go haywire as they relied on air currents to work and precipitation disturbed all of that. This was _not_ ideal! At least the emergency services were highly visible and doing a decent job of evacuating the street. 

The sewer-thing lifted up a fallen passer-by by their leg and watched impassively as they screamed and flailed in its grip. Peter immediately sprang into action and leapt down onto the back of the creature’s head feet first. With a grunt of surprise from the creature, the person was dropped and peter webbed them so they wouldn’t hit the pavement. He then had to leap away as the sewer-dweller swatted at him clumsily. 

“Dude! I’m a spider, not a fly!” he quipped before swinging away, safely depositing the person he’d saved behind the police perimeter. He returned to the ruined street and perched on the top of a badly bent lamp post. The creature regarded him from its position on the opposite side of the road. 

There was a moment of stillness and then they sprang at each other again. It was difficult to predict how the arms would move – the multitude of joints allowed for sudden, unpredictable changes of direction. It didn’t suit his usual style of fighting well at all: if he managed to immobilise one part of a limb there were still all the others to contend with and he hadn’t been fighting for long at all when he was batted into a building with enough force to go straight through a window. It hurt but nothing appeared to have been broken and he hit an interior wall more gently before landing in a crouch. The alien’s arm came hurtling through the window, also breaking the wall around it and Peter threw himself out of the way. The alien roared and started to rummage around the inside of the building, clawed hand grasping blindly. He was in a small room full of unopened cardboard boxes, some kind of stock room maybe? He spotted a door and lunged for it but it was locked tight and Peter didn’t have time to try to force it as a spike ghosted past his spine. If the situation had been less fraught he would have wondered why the room was so well secured but now was not the time! Peter was trapped inside; the only exit blocked by the alien’s arm. All he could do was dodge every time the creature tried to swipe at him. He knew he couldn’t keep this up forever but he didn’t exactly have many options to work with! 

Peter managed to hold out for longer than he expected in this disorientating dance but eventually he stumbled over a box, breaking it open to let bags of suspicious-looking white powder spill out, and into the beast’s claws which raked down his face but failed to catch him. Blood immediately ran down into his eyes and he would have effectively been blinded if not for his senses. He closed his eyes and focused on the air currents around him. His ability to evade was not impeded much – to be honest he mostly used sight to verify what his spider sense was telling him anyway. Not to say that he didn’t In its quest to catch him the monster had caused further damage to the wall and judging by the way the air movement there was enough room for him to exit. He waited for the arm to get close before swarming up it and out of the building he had been trapped in. Cheers echoed down the street at his reappearance and he swung to the other side of the street to give himself a couple seconds to wipe the blood from his eyes. There was some of the white powder clinging to his suit and just what were the chances that he would end up stumbling across the drug ring that the police had been complaining about so much lately?! It was likely they would have all skedaddled by the time he could do anything about it which was a little frustrating but he currently had more pressing problems to deal with! 

He then dodged another arm and fired his webshooters at the alien’s face. It had little effect. Most of the webs didn’t reach it’s face and were intercepted by its arms and the rest only covered a few of it’s many glowing, yellow eyes. He then took to the air again, using his webs to gain momentum before slamming into the beast’s side. It stumbled a little off balance before going back on the offensive, only more outraged now. Peter may have more room to move now but so did the alien and it could now see where he was with it’s almost panoramic vision. 

He would be hard pressed to win this fight. While he had faith in his healing abilities, his opponent was also insanely strong and he was a lot smaller and… squishable. He decided to try attacking from above again – at least then he had gravity on his side! He was swinging past the creature, a couple metres above it’s head and in perfect position to web its eyes properly when his luck abruptly ran out. One of the arms crashed into the web holding him in the air and he had no time to react before he was tumbling down past its face and with a single movement the jaws snapped shut around his torso. Serrated teeth slid through his suit and the flesh underneath as if they were composed of tissue paper. Peter could feel the grate of teeth against his ribcage and if the air hadn’t been forced from his lungs by the force of the bite he would have screamed. Every instinct in him, both human and spider, was making him panic and thrash in the creature’s hold despite the lack of air. The crowd beyond the cordon was becoming frantic as people watched their hero get mauled. 

As the pressure on his lungs became more constricting he fought less and struggled for breath more. He stared down at the uneven ground far below and realised he was utterly helpless. What he wouldn’t give for Mr Stark to save him now! He could almost see it now: initially he would lecture Peter about getting in over his head and then pretend he wasn’t worried while demanding status reports from Karen and, if Peter was lucky, he might even drive him home! Peter really missed Mr Stark. He hoped he was OK. How would Mr Stark feel if he was told Peter had died while he was in prison? He craned his head round to look up at the teeth embedded in his chest and shoulders with renewed determination. The creature shook him in it’s mouth, reminiscent of a nature documentary Peter remembered watching where a crocodile had caught a wildebeest and then proceeded to tear it apart. He cried out weakly, almost giving up again but he caught sight of the worried crowd in the distance. He couldn’t just give up now! People were depending on him!! But how did he escape??? 

There was something nagging at him. Something about crocodiles? He strained for the memory. It had been a few years ago and Aunt May had made friends with a weird Australian guy who she’d met at some charity fundraising event or something. They had quickly become friends and Uncle Ben and Peter had been a little bemused by their antics. May was no longer in contact after an incident involving Peter’s English homework, some ketchup and an overfull kettle but that was besides the point. Anyway he had had a massive scar on his leg from a crocodile encounter that he would show off at the slightest provocation and he would give an accompanying speech about how he had survived. If only Peter had paid attention after the first couple of times! It was something about…about…

He reached up as high as he could on the creature and stabbed his thumb into one of its many eyes. For a second it bit down harder and Peter felt tears sting at his eyes but then he was being released, the teeth tearing him up further as they slipped out. Peter fell headfirst towards the ground for a moment before he regained his wits and shot out a web. It was too late to soften the impact but ensured he landed on his knees rather than his head. Reuniting with the ground was unpleasant to say the least and he sagged forwards to sprawl across the broken tarmac. He had time to recover – the creature was still reeling from the damage to its eye – but he could feel unconsciousness waiting to claim him. 

“No!” he protested and then his eyes slid closed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha I felt really bad about hurting poor Peter (although after far from home we can comfortably conclude that he is pretty much indestructible!). However I have no remorse about that ending! >:))  
> Next chapter: another short one (unless I decide to make it x6 longer again :S )


	28. Squished Spider Protocol

T’Challa was deep in discussion with the Colonel and Ms Potts when his phone signalled that he’d received an urgent email. He’d actually forgotten it was in his pocket so was taken by surprise – which was lucky because otherwise he probably wouldn’t have checked the blasted thing! It was another email from his informant. This time something about Ross using inmates at the raft for some unknown purpose. It all sounded extremely illegal and dangerous. T’Challa had always known there was no love lost between the current Secretary of State and the superhero community but it was disturbing to see that Ross’ actions appeared to be heading further and further from the law. He wondered if this new development was part of his campaign against the Tony Stark and the Avengers or if it was aimed at someone else. 

He was about to share his new intel with the others but a hologram popped up without warning right next to Shuri, who jumped. It showed a live news broadcast in another area of New York where some kind of creature was wreaking havoc. A building was already burning and the street was littered with casualties. Emergency services were already at the scene but it was the vigilante ‘Spiderman’ that was providing them with the opportunity to evacuate everyone in the area. Well it looked like he now knew what Ross’ intentions towards the creature from the raft likely were, the timing was a little too convenient for this to be a random attack. Rhodes approached the hologram, his face drawn. “That’s Peter’s part of town, he’d better be OK.” The hologram had a glowing heading above it that read ‘Squished Spider Protocol’ T’Challa wanted to ask Rhodes what was going on but he was staring intently at the hologram, a frown on his face. 

They watched the fight play out in silence, wincing every time the creature got a blow in. T’Challa noticed that Rhodes was gripping the back of a chair tightly. By this point of the fight both Spiderman and the beast were beginning to tire. The vigilante was then caught in the monster’s jaws and, despite his best efforts, remained trapped there until he lay limply in its grip as blood began to stream down the creature’s chin. The back of the chair Rhodes was gripping began to creak but Ms Potts patted him on the shoulder and he exhaled heavily and released it. 

“Should we be suiting up?” T’Challa asked. 

Rhodes didn’t look away from the screen, his face drawn and… was that regret? “No, he can handle this. Besides this is a small scale incident so far and if we deploy right now Ross will be on our cases – that man is itching for a fight and after the civil war we’re all on shaky grounds with the UN.” 

T’Challa wanted to protest: as things currently were Spiderman certainly wasn’t ‘handling it’ by any definition of the phrase. Currently his chances of survival didn’t look good at all and T’Challa could feel the righteous anger that had led him into trouble many times in the past stirring within him but he couldn’t afford to cause any more international incidents right now so he took a couple deep breaths and remained where he was, his fury turning to aim at his own failings as a lance of loathing. Shuri drew his attention by stepping on his foot, his sister was never one to be overly affectionate except in her own odd ways, and she directed him to the display which showed that the young vigilante had begun to fight back again. The creature spat Spiderman out and T’Challa felt relief that his inaction would not lead to the youngster’s demise. 

“Fine” T’Challa ground out. He would stay at the tower but he wouldn’t like it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor T'challa is going to regret his decision to stay when Peter passes out right after when this chapter ends! Whoops!!  
> I doubled the length of this chapter, yikes! (It's still super short though :S )   
> I wasn't sure whether to keep this chapter in as it doesn't add much except that T'Challa gets another message from his informant and that Peter is not going to be getting any assistance but I put quite a lot of work into it so here we are. 
> 
> Next chapter: Tony is continuing to have an awful time. I am somewhat sorry?


	29. Operating Theatre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow an update to this and 5 times on the same day! I'm on a roll :D  
> I haven't updated this fic in a while because I wasn't happy with this chapter and I had no time to change it. I've tried to tone down the melodrama that made it ridiculous but I'm not sure how successful I was! :/
> 
> Warnings: suicidal thoughts (although there is no intent - it is purely as a problem solving exercise)

Tony was having yet another dull day in his boring cell. He’d finally learnt how to write passably with his feet last week and when the guards had realised there was to be no further entertainment to be gained they had promptly confiscated his writing supplies. The cell was now so devoid of distractions that he’d taken to trying to count the threads in his clothes – which in other circumstances he would have thought to be mind-numbing itself. Oh how times change! 

According to Ross (whose word was only slightly more trustworthy than Loki’s, a genuine god of lies!) he had been here for a month now. Surely it had been longer, though? It was beginning to sink in that he could be here for the rest of his life – as long or short as that may be. The continued damage to his body from his superhero lifestyle wasn’t doing him any favours so chances were he didn’t have too long left, a couple of decades probably, but in here any time at all was too long. Not that Tony was considering offing himself seriously yet. He had chosen the raft to spare Rhodey and Pepper from having to see him die, he wasn’t going to go back on that any time soon. Who can say in a few years’ time though. 

It was all academic anyway, yesterday he’d occupied himself with theorising how one would go about committing suicide in a high security prison where there was no privacy, purely as a problem solving exercise of course. He’d struggled to come up with much. 

His increasingly morbid thoughts were interrupted by some of the guards arriving, carrying something bulky between them. As they approached, Tony realised it was a person wrapped in some kind of tarpaulin. Blood was steadily dripping onto the floor, leaving a bright trail that contrasted vividly with the otherwise colourless hallway. The guards walked right past the front of Tony’s cell and entered the adjacent door. 

Just before they left his field of view he caught a glimpse of a limp hand encased in the spiderman suit. Tony made a strangled noise and stumbled towards the cell door but they’d already passed by. It couldn’t be him! Peter was supposed to be back in the states, safe with Aunt May and his friends. 

Medical equipment was now being rushed into the cell as well as a stream of doctors and nurses. He sat by the cell door numbly as the medical personnel started to bark orders to each other with increasing agitation. 

“Is something the matter, Stark?” Ross had also arrived it seemed. Tony knew he was trying to get a rise but he was currently somewhat distracted by the fact _his kid_ had been critically injured and was in Ross’ custody. He looked up at Ross tiredly “What have you done now?” 

Ross smirked slightly which was not a pleasant sight at all and pretended to be offended “ _We_ did nothing. Spiderman however, made some bad decisions and is now facing the consequences.” He paused dramatically “Although we kindly set the stage for him. The raft is getting so _full_ these days.” He winks at Tony knowingly. 

Tony grinds his teeth and forces himself to say nothing. It would do no good to show Ross just how rattled he is by this new development. Unfortunately Ross isn’t done talking yet. 

“We will of course provide him with the best possible medical care available here on the raft but he was a little more… mauled than I had planned. If he doesn’t pull through I’d advise against an open casket funeral.” 

He tries not to rise to the bait, he _really_ does, but before today Tony had already been holding on to his temper by the thinnest of threads. The constant humiliation, discomfort and helplessness has been wearing at him since he arrived on the raft and Peter being dragged into this mess is just too much. Tony is aware that reacting strongly to Peter being here will only give Ross more ammunition but Tony has also had ENOUGH. He has a couple seconds of brittle calm before being engulfed in blind rage. He rammed his body repeatedly against the door and screamed at Ross. In this state of fury he felt no pain or tiredness, only anger. His kid was hurt and Ross was making smart Alec remarks. _How dare he._ Ross is a parent, he had a daughter, surely he must understand how this felt? 

Afterwards he would have no memory of what he said, only that it was most likely very loud, offensive and probably not completely coherent. Tony couldn’t remember ever being so angry – and that included the mess in Siberia. Ross was content to watch him fall apart for quite some time but then became bored and ordered Tony to be shocked into unconsciousness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have now seen iron man 3 and I thought it was pretty good, it certainly provides a lot of insight into Tony's character at that point in the MCU and I loved the parts with Harley! It really shows just how much Tony loves Pepper in a way that none of the other films do and the scene where Killian kills Maya is chilling. The only downside to IM3 is THAT RABBIT. It most certainly was not something I ever wanted to see with my poor eyes!
> 
> Next chapter: Steve has some more opinions


	30. Ex-Vengers Assemble!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So only a short update this time but here goes :S I'm not particularly interested in Steve's side of things and I dodn't want to give away his plans so I've left it vague and short.   
> I originally wrote some character development for Wanda later on but it had to be removed because other plot points had to be dealt with first. I'm not particularly keen on Wanda (I haven't seen age of Ultron so I can't really made a valid judgement but from the stuff in civil war I wasn't thrilled with her). However when I write characters I'm not actually that keen on I inevitably end up portraying them more sympathetically than intended! (*cough cough* STEVE *cough*)

Steve looked over his troops. It was admittedly not as impressive as he would have liked: Sam had agreed immediately to help him but the others had been more hesitant. (Steve worried sometimes about how easy it was to convince Sam to do things for him but that was an issue for another time) Bucky was still frozen, and would it have been a good idea to have him come into contact with Tony so soon anyway? Vision wanted to help Tony but had been conflicted about how he could help. He’d eventually decided that Steve’s plan was the best option when he’d tried to contact FRIDAY for more information on the situation and had discovered her possibly terminal shut down. Wanda just blatantly didn’t care about Tony – she’d moved past some of her anger at him in the time they’d been away and she’d had some time to process but she definitely did not care what happened to him. The only reason she was here was Vision but that would have to be good enough. He hadn’t bothered to contact Natasha again as she could be very stubborn when she wanted to be and it would be a waste of both their time. Clint had told him (very rudely) to get lost so it looked like he wasn’t over his divorce yet. And the bug guy? He was indeed back in the government’s hold – this time under house arrest rather than in prison. 

The four of them would just have to do! Steve took a calming breath before getting out the folder of intelligence he’d managed to get his hands on. It was pitifully small but as with everything in his life currently it would have to be sufficient. He steps forward and prepares himself to give his speech.

“So, this is the plan so far…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Stuff happens and I am an evil being who feels no remorse >:D


	31. An Unpleasant Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear this chapter gets pretty rough! This is the chapter with the major character death so watch out. 
> 
> Warnings:major character death, detailed description of a corpse (AKA quite a lot of gore), an almost panic attack (written by someone that has never had one), general unhappiness with a side of survivor guilt and a smidge of self loathing. Oh fun!

He woke with his cheek pressed against the door of his cell and hurting all over. His neck was stiff and horribly burnt under the collar and his muscles ached from hurling himself against the door and then passing out against it. The lights were still out but judging by his aches and pains they were probably due to come on again soon. 

Tony flopped back unsteadily to sit on the floor in the middle of the cell and groaned when the movement pulled his strained and cramping muscles. His face felt gritty but he thought better of rubbing it with his clumsy hands: he would be just as likely to poke an eye out as to do any good. After stretching until the cramps had receded, he turned his attention to his surroundings when it registered that it was very quiet. The chaos from the previous night was gone without a trace. Other than his own breathing it was silent. 

Last night… Peter had been here!? He had been badly injured too so why was it so quiet now? Where were the sounds of the medical equipment or the doctors from before? 

The lights flickered before turning on to stab into his poor eyes as they always did every morning and Tony screwed his eyes closed and hunched over with a moan. It took a couple moments to get his vision to focus and he looked down at himself noting the damage he had inflicted to himself. Mostly he was just a little bruised but Tony was glad he couldn’t feel his numb hands. He had obviously clawed at the door with no concern for his health. His nails were grotesquely cracked and bleeding from the pressure they’d been subjected to and his knuckles were split and bruised. 

His view out of the cell was obscured by smudges of his own blood from his blind raging panic. He felt his face colour at the memory. How embarrassing to lose control in front of Ross. There were no doctors, guards or other personnel in sight which was concerning alongside his other observations. 

It was then he spotted a long dark shape on the ground right outside his cell. 

A body bag. 

He scrambled further away from the bloody door in unthinking panic before his rational mind kicked in. “Peter” he whispered in horror. He then tentatively approached the body bag again, quietly pleading that it didn’t contain who he feared. It was closed and unlabelled so there was no way to tell who was inside. Tony slammed his fist into the door again, leaving behind a fresh smear of blood. 

It had to be Peter, who else could be inside? His mind did a curious slither around the notion, like the meeting of oil and water. Peter didn’t belong in the same sentence as words like ‘dead’ or ‘body bag’ he was too young and clever for that. 

But why else would there be a body bag here, on display outside his cell? There would be no reason to lord it over him otherwise – although Ross had been desperate to capture Spiderman alive so this would an undesirable outcome for him too (although admittedly nowhere near as devastating as it was for Tony). He could already feel grief building in the ravaged spot where his arc reactor used to sit, only overshadowed by the uncertainty smothering him. It felt like he was being strangled by the mix of negative emotions that were building with no escape. 

Tony squeezed his eyes shut and took a couple of calming breaths. There was no point losing it when he had no confirmation of what was inside the bag, for all he knew this could all be a cruel joke and Ross could be trolling him! 

A brittle, icy stillness settled over him at that thought and he stared stonily up at the security camera. 

“Get down here, Ross and explain yourself.” 

He remained staring resolutely up at the camera for twenty minutes before Ross returned, closely followed by a guard. Tony was almost glad to see him. Holding himself back from spiralling completely was becoming increasingly difficult as time passed. His curiosity and paranoia was being weaponised against him but he would endeavour to make sure Ross didn’t find out how much this was affecting him. 

“Who’s in there?” he demanded angrily, jabbing an unresponsive hand at the bag before Ross had a chance to speak. 

Ross shot him a predatory grin that made fear rush through Tony. He nodded to the guard who walked over and slooowly unzipped the body bag halfway. Tony craned his head to try and get a look and the guard took pity on him and parted the plastic so Tony could see the corpse’s face. 

He… It… Tony stared for a second before screwing his eyes shut as if that would change what he was seeing. He was shaking all over and his breath becoming fast and uneven as he balanced on the edge of panicking. Tony forced himself to hold his breath until it no longer felt like his diaphragm was trying to shove his lungs up his throat. He took a few shaking breaths that were still a little too fast before reopening his eyes and looking at the remains of one of his favourite people. 

He almost didn’t recognise Peter. The slashes across the left side of his head had bled heavily and his face was mottled with bruises. Any undamaged sections of skin were paler than a fresh snowdrift and his dark eyes were still open, staring straight through Tony. Only the head and upper torso were visible and Peter was still wearing the blood-soaked remnants of the Spiderman suit. The cause of death was obvious – the flesh and muscle had been torn from the side of his chest and Tony could see far too many shattered ribs and even the grisly mess of a lung oozing underneath. A slow death. Peter’s superhealing had finally encountered an injury beyond its capabilities. He wanted to look away or throw up but remained where he was – this would be the last time he would see the body of the amazing kid he had begun to think of as his. 

What a terrible waste! Peter had been headed for great things if he’d so chosen and Tony had thought that enabling Peter to get there was going to be one of his better deeds. Peter had been so kind, so good! He could have surpassed Tony utterly (Tony had even recently toyed with the idea of making Peter his successor!). All of his hopes and a bright future all cruelly brought to a premature close by a monster in a man’s skin! Cripes, how old was Peter anyway? Sixteen? No wait, fifteen! At almost 47 he suddenly felt terribly old. Tony had, for the majority of his life, been an awful person – to the extent it was a well-known fact – so why was he still alive when Peter was not!? 

“Please tell me you’ll at least return the body. His family deserves to know he isn’t coming back.” He finally forced out. 

Ross regarded him curiously but detached, much like a small child watching an insect drown in a pond. “We will but only once we have carried out some experiments. His family will be notified when we have identified him.” Tony sobbed once quietly, Peter’s stupid secret identity had lasted longer than the idiot himself. Well it was no use to anyone now. 

Ross turned to go but stopped when Tony called after him “I can help with that!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Editing this chapter made me sad :'( I don't like hurting (or killing off) Peter but this is what happens when a character that was just going to have a cameo invades! TRAGEDY! TRAGEDY EVERYWHERE!! 
> 
> I would love to know what people think about this chapter as I have invested a lot of time in it!  
> Next chapter: May answers her door


End file.
